Falsette
by ColoradoGirl93
Summary: Sasuke has finally returned, but alot has changed in his absence, especially Sakura.  But what will happen when Sasuke needs something, can Sakura do it? Even if it means living a lie?
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys… This is my first fanfic, so I hope you enjoy. Yes I know it is short, but it is supposed to be, it basically helps set the story up. I will try to update ASAP!

p.s. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

Falsette

Chapter 1

It was a cold, not the kind of cold that you can just get over in a matter of minutes, the kind that chilled you straight to the bone, the kind that could stay buried beneath the skin for eternity. This is what Sakura felt as she walked towards the Hokage's office. Normally she would be at the hospital now, completing her rounds, or perhaps preparing for a mission, but as of now she was standing outside the Hokage's office preparing to face the boy, no scratch that, he would be a man now, who ripped her heart out.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" Lady Tsunade shouted at the young man seated in front of her, he wore no smile or no frown, but Sakura could sense that he was comfortable, no fear whatsoever for his fate.

"Are you listening to me?" She barked from behind her desk.

"Hn," he replied shortly.

_Typical_, Sakura thought, _some things never change. _But things of course had changed, not only physically, but mentally as well, and not only for Sasuke, but for Sakura and Naruto as well. How could one not expect change, after all, it had been four years.

Naruto was taller, he dwarfed Sakura now when they stood next to each other, he had also grown into his features making him noticeably more handsome. Not only that, but he had matured into a ninja with skills far beyond his years. He was after all the one to bring down Pain and assisted in the execution of Madara, and Sasuke's return. Sakura smiled to herself, _that little knucklehead turned out to be quite the ninja. _

Sakura had also grown into her body, acquiring a new height, developing curves, and the face (well mostly the forehead) that she had once resented was quite beautiful, just like her mentor Tsunade. As Tsunade's apprentice, she had not only grown beautiful, she had grown strong, and she was one of the most feared kunoichi in the village. She had also mastered the medicinal arts, and many argued that she could pass her teacher in skill in due time. All in all, Sakura was quite proud of her achievements so far as a kunoichi.

Then, there was him, she looked over at the young man sitting in the chair not far from her. She knew he had changed in his absence; he was definitely taller, and manlier. But Sakura also knew he had grown to be cold, it seemed as if he had no heart (he had after all tried to kill them on more than one occasion), and of course stronger, almost to the point where his powers were scary_. Who am I kidding, of course I am terrified of his powers,_ she thought to herself.

"Because of the powerful case presented by Naruto, the council has decided that you will not spend any time in prison for your actions. However, you will be on strict probation, you will be under guard 24 hours a day for at least a year. You will also do community service around the village whenever needed to help earn back the trust of the villagers, and lastly, when you are allowed to complete missions they are to be no higher that C-Rank for an estimated period of two years, which also waives your right to advance your rank from genin for two years as well. By signing this contract you agree to all these terms and accept the lesser form of your punishment," Tsunade finished firmly handing him the pen.

"Hn," he replied signing the document.

"You are free to go with Naruto; a new escort will be assigned to you weekly. That is all." Lady Tsunade waved her arm as a signal for them to leave.

As Sasuke got up he caught Sakura's eye, she tried to penetrate his gaze as deep as she could to find some source of good still left in him, but all she saw was emptiness and hatred.

Well there you have it… See you soon!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, sorry the first chapter was so short… this one is longer!

Chapter 2

"Naruto, take the test," Sakura commanded. "You don't have to hold yourself back just because he can't advance yet."

"I already told you Sakura, I am not going to become a chunin without Sasuke. I brought him back, and now that he is finally getting back on track I promised that I would not leave him behind."

Sakura shook her head at Naruto's stubbornness, he had wanted so badly to become a chunin, and now when the chance arose he rejected it. _Oh well, his loss._ She smirked; at least she was finally ahead of them both in something, for she was going to be taking the jounin exams soon.

"Naruto," the call came from across the street, it was Sasuke. "Let's go I want to get some more training in before I go home."

It must have felt great for Sasuke to be able to say 'I go home' instead of 'we go home.' It had been a little over a year since his return, and with that part of his probation over Sasuke had moved into a house on the Uchiha land.

"Train?" Naruto asked dumbly. "We trained all day, I'm beat."

"Come on Naruto, just do it okay." He whispered almost so it was inaudible, "and if you do I will take you out for ramen tonight."

Naruto thought for a moment weighing the choices. "Nah, as good as that sounds Sasuke, I'm totally worn out today. Sorry."

Sasuke looked furious; he obviously wasn't used to rejection. "I'll spar with you for a bit Sasuke," Sakura said.

"Hn." He said walking away.

Now it was Sakura's turn to be frustrated. _That jerk, after all this time nothing has changed, he is so self-centered and—_

"Are you coming or not?" He asked annoyed.

_Oops._ "Umm yeah," she yelled running to catch up to him.

_Why did I offer to go with him?_ She asked herself. Those were probably the most words she had spoken to him at once since his return. No matter what she couldn't fully forgive or trust him, therefore she never allowed herself to get close again. _Yet here I am going off to spar with Uchiha himself, oh well I guess there is no getting out of it now._

They arrived at the training ground promptly (Sasuke was a very fast walker). Sakura got into her fighting stance, prepared to show off her skills. Sasuke assumed his position as well, only he was much slower about it, as if he was hesitant to fight the pink-haired kunoichi.

_What's taking him so long? I've seen him and Naruto jump right into battles without any fighting etiquette at all. Hmm, I guess I'll have to attack first, here goes nothing._

Sakura lunged at Sasuke, coming very close to striking him with a chakra-infused punch. From that moment on Sasuke meant business, all of his hesitation disappeared as he was determined to prove himself dominant in this fight.

He had never really sparred with Sakura, seeing her as inferior to him, and he had only fought her a few times, and thus his knowledge of her style wasn't very extensive. He was about to activate his sharingan, but decided against it, he would use his own strength to win.

_He's fast I'm gunna have to be careful or else—ugh. _Sasuke landed a vicious blow to Sakura's stomach; she was blown backwards into a tree. She hadn't even reached the ground and Sasuke was upon her, swinging and trying to pin her. Sakura spun and pushed herself out of the way; she swung blindly, but through sheer luck managed to hit him. The blow gave Sakura enough time to recompose herself and get ready for his next wave of attacks.

They had been going at it for almost an hour, Sakura was beginning to fade, the end was near, but she was proud of herself, she had never fought this well against him before. _Oh no, here he comes again, that's a tiger hand sign, its gunna be a fire jutsu, gotta move fast. _She moved just in time, but it had been a diversion, as Sasuke came emerged to her right and began landing heavy blows on her. When they landed on the ground Sakura tried to roll out of the way, but Sasuke easily pinned her, she was done.

"That was pretty intense don't you think?" She asked.

"Hn."

_Ugh, why does he get to me? Snap out of it Sakura, you can't get attached to him, it's just asking for trouble, come on get a grip girl and just go home! _

"Well I'm going to head home Sasuke, see you later."

"Sakura," he called. She turned around. "Thank you."

She couldn't help it, she ran. Those words, those two words were the very same ones he told her the night of his defection. It was all too much, Sasuke was back, but he had felt more distant than ever, which to be honest was completely okay with Sakura. And then he had to go and say something emotional. _What am I thinking, he just said thank you. It's nothing like the night he left; it was just a simple thank you with no meaning behind it. Geez, I need to get a new hobby that doesn't involve worrying_.

Two Weeks Later:

"Sakura, are you busy?'' Shizune asked.

"No, not really, what do you need."

"There is a patient with minor cuts and bruises, and a few fractured ribs that need to be wrapped. I would do it, but Lady Tsunade is expecting me in 5 minutes. Please Sakura can you take care of it."

"Of course, go ahead."

Shizune put the patients chart on Sakura's desk and hurried out. Sakura picked up the file without looking at the name and just began walking to the room.

_221…222…223… Ahha, here we are, room 224._

"What seem to have brought you in Mr.—"She was stopped midsentence, in front of her sat none other than Sasuke Uchiha, the man she had been purposely avoiding.

He explained the mission to her and explained what went wrong; Sakura listened intently scribbling down a few notes.

"All right," she said, preparing her medical tools, "just lie down and relax; it is a fairly quick operation.

"Sakura," he said quietly as she began her work. "I have a question to ask you."

"Hmmm"

"It is more a proposition. You are the only female I am comfortable around. And I need to restore my clan, because of my relationship with you, I think you're the best suited girl, I mean woman for the job." He read her face, which turned white with shock and then red from anger. "Calm down," he commanded. "You're not obligated to do this and I am just saying it would be a good choice."

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

'"Because you have been ignoring me, so I figured letting a small mission go a bit astray. The punishment of these minor injuries was worth my asking. Sakura, I can't give you love, and I can't give what a normal husband would, but as a friend, I am asking you to be my bride and bear my children."

Sakura was a bright shade of red, she was stunned, she didn't know what to say.

Sasuke got up, "you don't have to answer yet, but I do want one by the end of the week. He walked out smirking, he knew this would work.

Sakura had to grab the chair for support. _Oh god what am I gunna do?_

There you have it… enjoy… I will update Chapter 3 ASAP


	3. Chapter 3

Well this is chapter 3… here we go! (p.s. thank you guys for the reviews.)

Chapter 3:

_Marry him. He expects me to marry him to give up everything I have ever worked for. And not only that after all he has put me through he asks this. Well that boy has another thing coming, a marriage without love, to a cold-hearted man like that, yeah right. _Sakura gave a triumphant smile; she could go right now and tell him her answer. In fact, I think I will. She got up, but as she did she heard his voice in her head. _'I'm asking you as a friend.'_ She sat back down. _A friend, he's never called me a friend before. I don't know what to do I—Wait a minute, he's not serious, this must be payback for me ignoring him. Ha! Good one Sasuke. He would never want to marry me and have kids, boy, I can't believe I fell for it._

Two day later:

"Sakura," Sasuke yelled, she stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Have you thought about it, what I asked earlier? I mean it's not the end of the week yet, but the quicker I know your answer the better."

"Drop the charade Sasuke, we both know it was just a trick for you to get back at me. You had me freaked out a little, so I admit I fell for it come on laugh it up."

Sasuke looked at her like she was beyond stupid, his gaze was making her a bit uncomfortable. "Sakura, what are you talking about. I'm serious, I really need you to do this for me."

"Just stop Sasuke, you already got me, quit dragging this on." She began to walk ahead. He grabbed her wrist.

"I don't know why you think I'm lying, or what I have to do to make you believe me, but Sakura, I'm serious."

She studied his face. She could never read Sasuke, but now more than ever she needed to. She didn't know how, but all of a sudden it hit her, he was serious. "Oh my god." She yanked her arm from his grip and ran. He followed. He caught up to her near the memorial stone.

"What is wrong with you?" He demanded.

"Me? What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you? After all the pain and trauma you put me through for 3 years, after all the hurt you expect me to do this for you? You don't want me, you want a womb. How dare you. How dare you Sasuke Uchiha. Do you have no common sense? What woman in her right mind would throw away her chance at a happy fulfilling life just to be with an emotional cripple like you?"

He was dumbfounded, she had never spoken to Sasuke like that, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. She waited for him to answer just so she could yell at him again. But he said the one thing that caught her off guard, "please."

She could have sworn her heart broke at that moment. He was always so strong, so cold, so emotionless, but yet here he was genuinely asking him to marry him and help restore his clan. _I don't know what to do. If I don't help him I don't know if I could ever forgive myself, but if I do, I don't think I will be able to either._ "I have to go," she said moving away, "I will talk to you later Sasuke."

"Sakura, about your question, about the whole love thing, I don't think I can love you. But I respect you, and my parents' marriage was arranged. It began with respect and turned into love, I can't guarantee the results, but I just wanted to let you know it could happen."

"I am leaving now," he gave her a curt nod and turned away.

His words kept repeating in her mind. 'It began with respect and turned into love._' But can I really risk throwing my entire life away on the slight chance that Sasuke may come to love me? He even said himself that he doesn't know if he can love me. I'm so confused_. As she was walking, she came to a fork in the road. She knew this road well, one path led to her small house. It was familiar, comfortable, everything she had ever known, definitely the smoothest course. The other path led her to the Uchiha land. If she did this, her future was going to be bumpy with unexpected twists and turns, the only things that would be definite is that she would be his wife and the mother of his children. _So what do I do now? Which path do I walk? _ She closed her eyes and took a step, and continued walking.

There was a knock at Sasuke's door, it was late, who would be here at this time? He sensed a familiar chakra, he opened the door, Sakura.

"If I'm going to do this," she said stepping inside, "I have some terms of my own."

They sat down facing each other. "Well, are you going to tell me, or just sit there?" Sasuke asked.

"First of all, I want a wedding, a real one, if I am going to throw my life away, I at least want one good memory. Second, I'm not just a womb, and I'm not going to be treated like one, you said you respect me, so your gunna act like it. And… and—"_Oh great, I had all this worked out, and now that I finally got the nerve to confront him I draw a blank. Come on Sakura think. _"Oh, and this marriage isn't gunna be one-sided, we're gunna have to compromise got it?"

"Hn."

Sakura feeling that they had an agreement got up to leave.

"Sakura, if you get to voice your terms, so do I, first, if you do this you will move in with me. Second, you will be my wife, and will follow the Uchiha expectations of a woman. And third, you won't tell anyone how this was arranged, got it?"

She nodded and got up.

"So we have a deal," Sasuke asked.

Sakura unable to speak just nodded.

WHOO I finally finished chapter 3…. For those of you who didn't wan ther to say yes sorry, but I have an idea and I like how its flowing so far, I will update soon… review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, well its been a few days but here is the next chapter… the chapter kind of jumps around, but its really Sakura just getting ready for the wedding… enjoy

Chapter 4:

Sakura sat at her desk reviewing a patient's file. _The fool, how could he have fell for a trap that easily? He's gunna have a long recovery ahead of him._ She sighed putting the file down, and looked around to make sure no one was around. From under the file she pulled out a magazine, she looked at all the beautiful kimonos that filled the pages. One in particular caught her eye, it was a white one with light pink cherry blossoms scattered across it, tied at the waist with a pink sash. _Yes, that's the one I want, I will go buy it today._

Sasuke hadn't given her much time to plan the wedding, only two months, and she only had two weeks left. She smiled as she thought of the various reactions she got when her and Sasuke had told everyone that they had been dating on a low profile, and that they were engaged. Naruto had taken it extremely well, while Kakashi-sensei was taken aback, (not to mention he was disappointed at how young they were). The best reaction though was Ino, she was absolutely furious. But she had forgiven Sakura and had been a big help in the wedding preparations. _Hmm,_ Sakura thought as she twirled the engagement ring around her finger, _I_ _can't believe in just two weeks I will be Sakura Uchiha._ Despite herself, Sakura gave a half-smile to the thought.

Later That Day:

"Sakura, the kimono looks amazing on you," Tenten cooed.

She blushed as she twirled around in the kimono. "You really like it? You guys don't think it's too flashy?"

"Tenten just said it looks amazing on you," Ino said, "so quit second guessing us and just buy it already." Ino grabbed Tenten and walked away so Sakura could undress.

As the silky material slipped over her body she couldn't help but thinking, _soon I will have to do this in front of Sasuke. Oh god what is he going to think of me? I hope he does not expect me to do it too soon, I have no idea what to do._ A blush overtook her face_. It's going to be okay, I will just cross that bridge when I come to it I guess. _

"Okay," Ino practically yelled, "time to go to a food tasting to see who will cater the wedding."

As they sat tasting all the delicate rich food Sakura thought of Sasuke. "You know what? All of this seems wrong, none of it really says Sasuke, he likes to keep things simple."

"Are you sure?" Tenten asked, "it's a special day don't you want something special and sweet?"

"It's not only my wedding, I think ongiri and tomatoes will do they are Sasuke's favorite dish, plus they are pretty filling."

"It's so plain!" Ino shouted, "It's a wedding, you can't have common food. Sakura Haruno are you crazy?"

Sakura just smiled. "I guess I am, but it's what I want and I know Sasuke will like it, but I tell you what Ino, since this is so plain you can pick out the desserts and make them as sweet as you want."

"I guess."

Sakura collapsed on her bed. _Who knew shopping could tire someone out so much? _There was a knock at the door, Sakura answered it without looking through the peephole, she had a feeling she knew who it was. Sasuke, she was right.

"Sakura, I need to talk to you about something."

"What else could you possibly need? I'm already going to marry you and have your kids under false pretenses," she said playfully. Her response earned her a glare from Sasuke, causing her to shrink back into her chair. "Sorry, go ahead."

"Hn. I know the wedding is not for a couple of weeks, but I think that you should move in… Tomorrow."

_Now he's lost it. I haven't even had time to really pack, and why would I move in before I'm married to him? He better not be thinking—Oh that little closet pervert!_

Sakura's face was growing redder by the second, but before she had the chance to explode Sasuke spoke again. "It will be good for us to get used to each other. I know we have time to do that once we are married, but I think it is best this way, so I insist that you do."

Sakura knew that she would have to, Sasuke would not stop bugging her about it until she gave in, so to avoid the hassle she just agreed. Sasuke seemed somewhat surprised at her submission, but pleased nonetheless.

"You can leave most of your appliances here; I have them at my house, all your really going to need is your clothes, and things you absolutely cannot part with."

She looked around her small apartment, how was she supposed to choose what to take. Almost all of her belongings held a significant meaning to her. But she sucked it up and said, "Okay, I will be ready to go with you by sundown."

Sasuke gave a curt nod before leaving.

_What am I going to take? How am I going to leave all these memories behind? I guess I should start with the basics: clothes, make-up, shoes, and other vanity materials (I doubt Sasuke would have any)._ She also took her weapons, pictures, and a few mementos from her childhood. All of her stuff didn't even amount to 2 full suitcases. Sakura looked around her apartment with tears in her eyes. _This is it I guess, I'm really doing this._ Though she had not packed up most of her apartment, this seemed to make things official, and it hurt her deeply.

The Next Day:

"Well this is it," Sakura sighed.

Sasuke looked at her questionably, he had expected her to want to bring almost the whole apartment, he had expected and argument about how much was enough. What he hadn't expected was two small suitcases with a depressed looking Sakura beside them. A small twinge of guilt was nipping at Sasuke. He was ripping her from everything she had ever known, and for what? To be his tool. But feeling soon subsided; she was after all doing this on her own freewill.

He picked up the suitcases and began leading her to his home.

She stared in awe at his house. It wasn't quite a mansion, but it was big, and quite beautiful. But Sakura soon found that looks can be deceiving; inside was plain and boring, everything in order, with nothing vibrant or colorful to light up the room.

Sasuke led her to a small room, "you can stay here until our wedding night." Sakura blushed when he mentioned that, earning a small smirk from Sasuke. _That was almost a smile,_ she thought pleasantly to herself.

Sasuke left her alone to unpack. _Well, step one of my new life complete._

Sorry, I know that's not the best way to end it, but review plz and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay so this is the 5th chapter obviously :) I really hope you guys like it

Chapter 5

Sakura lay in her bed staring at the ceiling. She knew she had to get up, but she was putting it off for as long as possible. The feeling in her stomach was beginning to make her sick, she was so nervous. _Come on,_ she thought to herself, _move. I have to get up, Ino will be here soon. _She swung her legs off the bed, her feet landed on the cold hard floor. Tears filled her eyes, _this is what my life is going to be like._ She wiped the tears away before they could fall. _I can't go thinking like that now, I chose this._ She got in the shower and let the hot water run over her body, it always made her feel better.

In The Kitchen:

Sasuke heard the water running, Sakura was up. He poured himself a cup of tea and sat down. He couldn't believe she was actually going through with this, after all the hurt he had put her through, after he had rejected her, and treated her like dirt, she was still willing to throw away her entire life for him. He let a half-smile slip out past his hard exterior, he didn't love Sakura, but it was nice to have someone to genuinely care about him.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. He answered, and was practically trampled by Ino, Tenten, and Hinata. "Where is the bride to be?" Ino shouted.

Sasuke glared at her as he regained his composure, "upstairs."

Without even a thank you, they all ran upstairs. Sasuke shook his head at their foolishness, he was getting a headache.

Sakura And The Other Girls:

"You're not getting cold feet are you?" Ino asked.

"Of course not, I'm just nervous, I'm not used to being the center of attention."

"Don't worry about it Sakura," Hinata said timidly, "you look beautiful."

Sakura turned and faced the mirror, she smiled, Hinata was right, she did look beautiful.

"Sasuke better be grateful," Tenten said, "he's getting a gorgeous bride, a great ninja, and a fantastic woman."

Sakura hugged her, tears filling her eyes for the second time today.

"Alright enough," Ino pushed them apart, "I have to finish your hair and no crying, we spent so long on your make-up so don't ruin it."

Sakura nodded and sat back in the chair_. I can do this, I know I can. I don't need Sasuke to love me to be happy, I have all the love I need from them, he is just something extra._

They were ready to leave at noon, right on time. Sasuke had left before them. Sakura wondered what he looked like, she knew what kimono he was wearing, but she had never seen it on him. She smiled as she imagined how handsome he was going to be.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the spot, it was just a small clearing near a river, nothing fancy. Everyone was there, even Kakashi-sensei. The procession began. Up on the alter Sakura was getting more anxious by the minute, she began fidgeting with her kimono.

Sasuke noticed, he knew she was nervous, the least he could do was reassure her, her grabbed her hand and moved it away from the kimono, holding it in his own instead.

"You may kiss the bride," Tsunade finally said.

Suddenly Sakura panicked, she had never kissed anyone before. She saw Sasuke lean in and followed suit, their lips connected. Sakura waited for the fireworks, for the warm feeling to rush through her being, but she felt nothing. The kiss was over quickly, Sasuke grabbed her hand and turned to the crowd as they cheered for them.

The reception was much fancier than the wedding, thanks to Ino, she had rented out a nightclub and decorated it beautifully. The Uchiha crest decorated the walls, _that is my crest too now,_ Sakura thought. She should have been happy, but she was feeling worse about her life by the minute.

"Alright," Tsunade announced, "as everyone knows, the first dance belongs to the newly weds, so come on out."

Sakura walked out to the floor, but Sasuke remained in his spot.

"Go on," Naruto urged him.

"I don't dance," he replied shortly and went to sit down.

"Umm, it's okay," Sakura had to think fast and try to cover up how hurt she was. "Dancing isn't really his thing, we decided that we weren't really going to have a dance." The crowd still looked baffled, so Sakura grabbed Naruto and dragged him out to the dance floor.

Sasuke was by himself for most of the party, other than people stopping at his table every now and then to congratulate him. The whole night his eyes were fixed on Sakura. She did look beautiful, of course he would never say it out loud, and he was even a bit jealous of all the guys hanging all over her. But those were things he would never say. He watched as she danced the night away, she was a little tipsy from the sake she drank with Tsunade. He smiled as he watched her stumble; it disappeared though, when she stumbled into Naruto's arms. He caught her, and held her a little too long for Sasuke's liking.

Something deep inside was telling Sasuke to rip Sakura away from Naruto, and all the other men drooling over her, but he refrained. She was smiling for the first time in a long time, and she deserved to be genuinely happy for one night at least.

Sakura was having the time of her life. For the first time, it felt as if this was an actual wedding, not just something staged, not just an act. But she looked at Sasuke; he had a scowl on his face. _I can't believe he won't even pretend to have fun. He looks absolutely miserable._ She began to feel bad, so she went to sit with him.

"Do you want something to eat or drink?"

He didn't reply, just kept his eyes glued to an Uchiha crest on a far wall. Sakura took his hand to wake him from his trance, he recoiled. "Stop it," he said coldly, "just stop. This is for you, it was part of the deal. So go out and enjoy it, because we only have the club for another hour." She looked like she was going to cry, but instead she just walked away to rejoin her friends on the dance floor.

The party ended too soon for Sakura's liking, and all too soon, she found herself back at Sasuke's house. She sighed, _well I guess it will be back to the routine we had before, today was fun while it lasted._ She went to the kitchen, and Sasuke went upstairs.

After a few moments she decided to go to bed. She walked past Sasuke's room, _wait a minute, what is he doing with my clothes? _"Hey what are you doing?" She asked grabbing her shirt out of his hands.

"We're married now." He replied shortly.

Sakura dropped her hands, "oh yeah. Silly me, of course how could I forget." She took a pair of pajamas from the pile her clothes on his bed and went to the bathroom to change into them. _Oh, no, oh no…_ _What am I going to do? I'm not ready for that._ She looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were filled with terror. _I will just tell him, he'll understand I'm sure._

She came back into the room, Sasuke was clad in only his boxers. Sakura blushed and turned away. He came closer to her, instinctively, she backed up. "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

He didn't know why, but at this moment her not adding the honorific –Kun after his name hurt a little bit. She hadn't in a long time, but now it stung. He pushed the thought out of his mind as he stepped closer to her. "Take off your clothes," he whispered in her ear.

"Sasuke no, I know we are married, but I'm not ready for this. Why do we have to rush this? We have time.''

He looked beyond pissed, "No Sakura, we don't. We are ninjas, we are put in life threatening situations everyday. Time is a luxury we don't have."

"But I—" He cut her off by turning away.

He stopped when he heard her clothes drop to the floor. She walked towards him, "okay," she whispered kissing his shoulder.

He turned around and scanned her body, she seemed to shrink under his gaze. He picked her up and put her on the bed. He let his hand slide over her body softly, giving her goosebumps. She sat up and kissed Sasuke on the mouth, her hand slipped around his neck and played with his hair, arousing him.

From that point on, Sasuke was no longer gentle, he went into an animalistic state. He returned the kiss roughly biting her lip, causing her to squirm underneath him.

He tried to unclasp her bra, but to no avail, frustrated, he ripped it off her body. Embarrassed, Sakura tried to cover herself, but Sasuke growled, and lifted her arm above her head. His hand squeezed her breasts, and ran itself over them, causing her nipples to become hard. He broke the kiss, and moved down to kiss and bite her nipple. Against her will, Sakura let forth a small moan. Sasuke became even more aroused, he needed to be inside of her now.

He took off her panties and threw them along with his boxers. He was at her enterance, he wanted so badly to pound into her, make her scream his name, but somehow he refrained.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, "go ahead."

That was all it took, he slammed into her. He watched as tears streamed from her eyes. He felt guilty, he was always hurting her, first as a teammate, and now as his bride. He kissed her gently, she adjusted her hips to receive him better. He thrust into her again.

After a few minutes he began picking up the pace, earning a moan from Sakura, he smirked.

All too soon, Sasuke was spilling his seed inside of her.

He collapsed on top of her, and laid there for a few minutes. She started to stroke his hair, he sat up and looked at her. She looked so innocent. He kissed her forehead before rolling over to sleep.

_It's done I guess. I'm Mrs. Uchiha_. Sakura held back tears. Today was full of firsts for her, and none of them were anything like she had ever dreamed. She rolled over and closed her eyes, but she didn't sleep, just sobbed silently.

Poor Sakura :( but there you have it! Review pretty please


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry... I know its been awhile... but i have been super busy... anywho... I hope you enjoy:**

Sakura got up before Sasuke (an unusual occurence), and immediatly got in the shower. She felt so dirty, but no matter how much she scrubbed herself, it wouldn't go away. Finally she gave up, and instead just sat down and cried as quietly as she could. _I am being ridiculous, he is my husband, I am allowed to do it with him. Everyone expects that we will and - Oh my God, everyone will know! _The thought just made her cry harder. _At least the running water drowns me out._ Or so she thought.

Sasuke's POV

_She's crying,_ he could hear her sobs coming from the bathroom. Despite that though, he found it hard to feel guilty. She was afterall, his wife, why should he have to wait to have sex with her? _I shouldn't_, he said to himself as if to make him believe it. He got up and started heading to the bathroom to console Sakura, but instead, turned and went down to the kitchen.

He had to admit, he was a bit irritated, Uchiha women did not behave this way. There was a certain manner in which Sakura had agreed to act, and this was not it. He decided though, that he would confront her about that later, and grumpily began making breakfast.

Back To Sakura:

It was a long time before she got out of the shower, but she was feeling a little bit better when she was finished. That feeling went away when she went down stairs and saw Sasuke moodily eating his food.

He looked up as she walked in, "We need to talk."

"Okay," she said warily sitting across from him. She was so afraid he was going to mention last night, so she busied herself by putting butter on some toast.

"When you agreed to marry me, you also agreed to abide by the same code Uchiha women do. Do you remember that?"

Sakura was shocked, after all she had done for him, he was criticizing her! "What," she said sarcastically, "am I not up to your standards?"

Sasuke glared at her, "Stop it. All I mean is that you are an Uchiha now, so the women of the clan do certain things."

"Enlighten me then," she said bored.

"First of all, this is unacceptable, women are supposed to be up and ready before the men, and breakfast should be prepared by the time I come downstairs." Sakura's mouth fell open in shock, but Sasuke continued talking. "It is your duty to clean the house, and I want it immaculate, when I am available for dinner, it should be done by 6 o'clock sharp. And the only missions you can go on are the ones I approve, or unless directly ordered by the hokage. That's about it, but I'll let you know as we go."

Sakura was fuming. "What? It sounds to me like you expect me to be your personal slave, no way! I'm gunna do things my way or-"

"Enough!" Sasuke yelled slamming his cup of tea on the table, Sakura shut up. "I have been extremely lenient so far towards you, and that isn't even all of the Uchiha codes, but I'm letting you slide!" Sakura could only stare at him as he continued to rant. "Did you know Uchiha men are allowed to hit their wives? But have I done that to you or even threatened to? No! And yet you can't even abide by the simple rules I set for you? Ridiculous!" He knocked his cup over and walked out. Sakura heard him slam the door.

She grabbed a towel and began cleaning up the spilled tea. Sakura wanted to cry, but she wouldn't let herself. _I gave up everything for him. I even gave him myself, and yet he wants more. This was a mistake, and now I'm stuck._ She sighed and sat down. _But I agreed to it, he agreed to my terms, so I guess I have to abide by his._ She sighed again,_ I can't believe I'm giving into him again._

She went upstairs to get dressed. Sakura was about to put on her ninja attire, but stopped, she was married now, she could't wear those all the time now. Instead she chose tan capris and a red shirt with the Uchiha crest on it. Putting it on felt wrong, it all felt wrong.

"Wow," Ino said, "married only a day and you already chased him off huh forehead? I guess I was right, you guys did move too fast."

"Shut up Ino. That's really not what I want to hear, I just want you to say that I am right and he is being unreasonable."

"But if I just said what you wanted to hear then you would never solve this problem."

"Fine then, what do you think Ino?"

"Well like I said, I think this is the product of you guys moving too fast, but other than that, I think Sasuke does have some valid points. I mean he is used to a certain living standard, and as his wife, it is your duty to fufill that standard."

"What are you talking about? He wants to regulate the missions that I go on!"

"But Sakura, you can't expect to be able to go on the amount of missions that you did before, you have a duty to your husband now."

Sakura didn't answer, instead she walked to the window. What Ino was saying was definately not what she wanted to hear, but she had to admit that she had a point. _I've already made this many sacrifices for him, I guess I'm just as obliged to do this._

**That Evening:**

It was 5:30 and Sasuke still hadn't come back, Sakura was disappointed, she had cleaned and cooked all day since Ino left to make up for the fight with Sasuke. The clock seemed to tick by interminably slow, and he still didn't come. Her stomach was starting to tighten up, what if he didn't come back?

Sakura had tried to busy herself, but she kept looking back at the clock. 6:00 came and went and he still didn't come back. By 9:30 it was apparent he wasn't coming home anytime soon, so Saukra put the food away and got ready for bed.

As she lay there alone, she openly sobbed, how could she have tried so hard for so long to do everything right for him, and messed it up in just a matter of minutes by one argument?

**Sasuke:**

He got home late, it was past 3 in the morning. He stumbled into his bedroom and out of his clothes. As he was taking his pants off he fell onto the bed, nearly crushing a sleeping Sakura.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura pushed him off of her and sat up, "Sasuke?" The first thing that flashed through her mind was if Sasuke was ok, he looked like he was extremely drunk, but then, she was pissed for what he put her through that day. "Where the hell were you? I was worried sick about you all day!"

"Stop yelling will you I'm feeling kinda dizzy."

"Good, you deserve it you jerk, I can't wait till tomorrow, your gunna be sick as a dog!"

Despite being drunk off his ass, Sasuke managed to glare at Sakura. "You know, you could show a little compassion and use your medical ninjutsu to get some of the alcohol outta my system."

"Why would I do that?" She asked smirking, "I guess you shouldn't have run off."

"Sakura this isn't funny, now will you help me dammit?"

Despite how pissed off she was, Sakura could't let him suffer, she helped him onto the bed and began working on him. "I'll try," she said finally.

"What?" He had no idea what she was talking about.

"All of your Uchiha codes, I'll really try to follow them, but I am going to need time to adjust to them, and I need you to be patient with me for this to work."

"Fine."

Ugh, does he know how to answer with more then one word? "There, you'll feel fine tomorrow. Don't make this a habit ok? Goodnight."

Sakura got under the covers, Sasuke followed suit, but before he laid down, he kissed Sakura lightly on the cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

**I am back with chapter 7! I hope you guys enjoy it... review plz!**

Sakura made it a point to get up before Sasuke, she walked groggily downstairs to the kitchen. She took out rice to start breakfast, but instead she decided that she would make eggs and toast instead, it seemed much more simple than a traditional breakfast.

Sasuke came downstairs in only his boxers, he didn't say anything about his behavior yesterday, but he wouldn't look up to meet Sakura's eyes either. He sat at the table, Sakura placed a cup of tea in front of him. He took it in his hands but didn't drink it, just stared into the cup. Sakura came behind him and began to massage his shoulders and neck. "Don't worry about what happened yesterday, I understand. You had a right to be mad, I was being unreasonable, and I have to hold up my end of the deal." He still didn't respond, the silence was making Sakura nervous. "Sasuke-" She was cut off by him suddenly standing up.

"I'm going to go train after breakfast."

''Oh, ok. What do you want me to do while your gone?" She asked sheepishly.

He stared intensly at her, she seemed to shrink under his gaze. "The house is clean, you can do what you want today." He turned and walked out of the room.

Sakura never thought she would be so relieved to hear someone say that she could have the day to herself. _I know, I will train today too, I haven't really been out in the past few days, this will be refreshing._ Her thoughts were interrupted when Sasuke returned in his ninja attire, he sat at the table and waited for her to serve him. She did so quietly, and he didn't seem to have any complaints about her living up to the Uchiha standards thus far.

Sakura waited until Sasuke left before she changed into her ninja clothes, it had only been a few days since she wore them, but it felt like an eternity. As she slipped the cloth over her body she felt like a lost part of her was being returned.

It was weird sparring with Ino, Sakura was so used to the challenge of fighting Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, or even Sasuke, fighting Ino seemed like she was taking steps back. She had almost gone to spar with Naruto and Sasuke, but she felt that it would be weird and maybe even awkward, besides, she wanted some time away from Sasuke, and she was sure he felt the same way.

After they were done, Sakura and Ino sat under a tree talking.

"I go back to work at the hospital tomorrow." Sakura didn't say it outloud, but she was secretly excited to go back to work and have a break from the routine that her life had become.

"Oh, are you excited?"

"Kind of, I mean its nice having time off, but I just wanna get back to work."

"Geez, is being married so bad that you need to escape to work?"

Sakura knew Ino was kidding, but still the comment made her feel sick, but she played it off with a smile. "Of course not, I mean I love being at home with Sasuke, but I just want to do somethings that are out of routine, you know?"

"Yeah I guess."

The girls continued to talk for hours and before Sakura knew it, it was almost 5:30. "Oh no! I'm supposed to have dinner ready by 6, Sasuke is gunna be pissed! Sorry Ino, I gotta go!" Sakura rushed off, she had no idea what she was gunna make.

She got home and slipped inside thinking she would have enough time before Sasuke got home, but as she walked into the living room she saw him sitting on the couch. "Oh, hi Sasuke, how was your day?"

"Hn."

Great, he's probably pissed. Oh well, I told him that he would have to give me time to adjust. She walked quietly into the kitchen and started making food, Sasuke followed her. He leaned against the counter and watched Sakura, it was making her nervous, because honestly, he still scared her more than anything in the world.

Despite what Sakura thought about Sasuke being mad, the evening was uneventful. They ate in silence, Sakura did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen, then went upstairs to get things ready to go back to the hospital tomorrow while Sasuke wrote mission reports.

He joined Sakura upstairs a few hours later, she sensed his chakra as he walked in, Sakura was surprised, it was actually relaxed. Sasuke walked behind her and put his hands on her hips. "Come to bed Sakura."

Whether he meant to do it or not, his voice sounded so seductive and sent chills down Sakura's spine. She followed him to the bed where he was sitting down, instead of sitting next to him though, Sakura kneeled in front of him and began taking off his shirt. Sasuke seemed surprised at Sakura taking the lead like this, but her didn't object. Her hands sent chills over his body as her hands traced his abs. Sasuke seemed like he was about to be lost in the moment when suddenly he grabbed Sakura and threw her on the bed, in less than a second he was on top of her. _I guess he doesn't know how to let himself go_, Sakura stared at Sasuke's face as he ripped her blouse off, she blushed, _or maybe he doesn't like not being in control._ He now took his turn using his hands to trace over her stomach. Sakura could have stayed like this all night and been perfectly happy, but she noticed Sasuke looked nervous and even frustrated, she could see now that he was avoiding moving too high or too low at all costs. She sat up and kissed him on the cheek, "go ahead Sasuke, I am your wife, you can do what you want."

That seemed to be all it took, Sasuke ripped the bra off her body without a second thought. Instead of touching her though, he just stared hard at her exposed body. Sakura felt uncomfortable and began to squirm under his gaze, she couldn't read his expression, but she was dying to know what he thought of her body. Seeming to sense her discomfort, Sasuke put his arm around her as he knelt his head down and put her right breast in his mouth, he smirked when Sakura took a sharp breath in. He continued working on her breast, earning a few soft moans from Sakura. Soon though, Sasuke was working his way down her body kissing her stomach until he was at the waist line of her pants. He only took a few seconds to take those off along with her panties. Sakura didn't really think it was fair that she was completely naked while he still had his pants on, but she didn't voice these thoughts from fear of ruining the moment. Sakura was thrust out of her thoughts though when Sasuke quickly and roughly inserted a finger into her, she moaned as he pumped in and out of her, earning a sexy smirk from Sasuke. He continued his work on her nether regions until he felt she was ready. Sasuke wouldn't say it, but the image of Sakura panting and being hot and wet for him turned him on more than anything. He took his pants off quickly and positioned himself in between her legs. Sakura knew the mix of pain and pleasure that was about to come, and she was still scared, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, urging him on. All of a sudden, Sasuke slammed himself into her, Sakura wanted to scream, but instead buried her face in the crook of his neck. Saskue waited a moment or two before pulling almost completely out and slamming into her again. Sakura adjusted her hips to recieve him and began kissing his neck, he started to pick up the pace.

Sakura started to feel pleasure that words couldn't describe. It was building up inside of her, and suddenly she felt it all release, her toes curled and she felt her hips moving spazzmatically, trying desperately to meet Sasuke's thrusts. Sasuke came soon after her, in one final thrust he spilled his seed into her, then collapsed ontop of her. Sakura massaged his head and rubbed his back as she felt his breathing return to normal. He sat up, kissed her on the cheek, just like last time, then rolled over to go to sleep.

Tonight, Sakura didn't feel like crying.

**The Next Day:**

Sakura walked into the hospital feeling extremely energetic and ready to take on whatever patients came her way, she couldn't believe she was so excited just to work.

Shizune was standing outside of her office when Sakura walked in, "Shizune!" Sakura exclaimed running to hug her friend and mentor.

"Sakura! It's so nice to have you back!" She smiled sheepishly then, "I'm sorry you had to some back only a few days after getting married. I tried to convince Lady Tsunade to give you at least a week off so you and Sasuke could be alone together with no worries, but she refused."

"It's fine Shizune," Sakura said laughing at her friend's frantic state. "Honestly, I have my whole life to be with Sasuke, so I don't mind coming back."

Shizune smiled and handed Sakura some charts with patients names in them. "These are only the morning patients, more are bound to come in, but Lady Tsunade wants to have lunch with you."

"Alright, thanks Shizune."

As Sakura was working that day, she didn't worry at all about Sasuke or her future, she was just in the moment, and she was truly happy.

None of her patients had any serious injuries, so they were all taken care of rather quickly, which meant she was early to go see Lady Tsunade, but she didn't mind, she missed her mentor. "Come in," was the sharp answer when Sakura knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. Tsunade was looking over some papers when Sakura walked in, and didn't seem to notice who she was, but when she looked up a big smile made its way across her face. "Sakura, its great to see you. Stay there, let me take a look at you." Sakura stood still as Lady Tsunade got up and inspected her. "Its only been a couple of days since I have seen you, but it seems like you have grown up and gained years of wisdom in that short amount of time." Sakura blushed and sat in the seat that Tsunade indicated, as she hollered for someone to bring them lunch.

With all the worrying about Sasuke, and her future with him, Sakura almost forgot how at ease she was and how happy it made her when she talked to Tsunade. She truly cherished the hours she spent with her mentor, but all too soon, Shizune rushed in saying there was a patient in need of Sakura's attention. Tsunade noticed Sakura looked sad at having to leave, and assured her they would have lunch again tomorrow, Sakura's face instantly brightened at the news.

When Sakura returned to the hospital, she was surprised to see Kakashi waiting for her with a huge gash in his arm. She attended to him immediately. "Sakura, its great to see you."

"It would be great to see you too Kakashi-sensei if your arm wasn't about to fall off." He laughed as Sakura continued her treatment.

It was almost the end of her shift, and suprisingly, Sakura wanted to go home to Sasuke, being at the hospital today and seeing the people she loved had given her strength, and a small part of her did want to see Sasuke as well. Before she walked out she looked at the mirror that hung on the back of her office door, she held her stomach,_ maybe soon there will be someone else coming along for me to love and cherish as well._

**_I really hope you guys enjoyed reading this... Reviews are definately welcome!_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry... I know it's been awhile... I have been extremely busy, but here is chapter 8**

It had been four months, Sakura had been married to Sasuke for four months and nothing, she showed no sign of being with child, and she could feel Sasuke getting restless. He no longer looked at her with kindness and respect, but already it had turned into a look of annoyance.

"Sakura, I want to talk to you about something." Sakura knew what it was of course, Sasuke wanted to know why they had not concieved yet.

"I know what your going to say Sasuke, and I don't have an answer. I can't control when I get pregnant." The look Sasuke gave Sakura was only on his face for a moment before disappearing, but Sakura saw it, it was a look of disgust. She hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry Sasuke, believe it or not I'm as disappointed as you, but I don't know what else to tell you."

Instead of answering Sasuke turned away, angering Sakura. "Don't walk away from me!" Sasuke turned around, obviously pissed at Sakura's sudden outburst. "This is the first time you have talked to me in two days, and all it is about is to show how disappointed you are in me! I'm trying everything I can, have you ever considered maybe it's your fault we haven't concieved yet?"

Sasuke looked beyond pissed now as he walked towards Sakura. "What are you suggesting?" He asked in a low warning tone.

"I-I-I-" Sakura was angry that Sasuke affected her so. "I mean it's not all my fault, maybe it's just luck or maybe there is something wrong but it's not all me okay?"

"Obviously it is, because I am perfectly healthy."

"I am too! Maybe I haven't gotten pregnant because of all the stress you put me under! That much stress isn't good for anyone."

"Fine! If your so stressed out then perhaps you need less duties!"

"Sasuke no I-"

"I am reducing the number of missions you are allowed to go on, and I am going to request to the Hokage that you only work 4 days a week instead of 6!"

"Sasuke you can't do that!"

"Watch me," he hissed. "I am your husband and you will do as I say! I must have a child!" He stormed out of the room leaving Sakura alone. She crumbled onto the floor and sobbed.

**Later That Night**

When Sasuke came home dinner was ready, Sakura served him, but instead of sitting and eating with him she walked out of the room and up to their bedroom presumably. "Sakura" he called. No answer.

Sasuke got up from the table, he was angry now. He found her on the bed crying. "Get up and go to dinner," he said coldly.

"No."

"Sakura stop being childish and do as your told, now go!"

"How am I not supposed to act like a child when I am treated like one?"

Sasuke didn't answer but instead glared at her.

"Stress from work or missions was not what I was talking about. I was talking about this, I am so unhappy and you don't even care! The hospital and missions are the only escape I get, the only time when I am truly happy." She looked to Sasuke but couldn't read his expression, "go eat, I'm not hungry."

"Sakura don't push me," he warned. "Go downstairs."

"No!"

Sasuke had lost his patience, he was at Sakura's side in the blink of an eye. He grabbed her arm and began to drag her. "Sasuke stop it! You're hurting me!" He paid her no heed and continued to drag her. When they got to the kitchen he slammed her into a chair, "stay!" he comanded. Sakura began to cry but Sasuke paid no attention to her and began to eat, she felt like a dog.

When Sasuke was done eating he excused Sakura, telling her to do the dishes in the morning. She went straight to their room got into her pajamas and went to bed.

Sakura had been asleep for a few hours when she sensed Sasuke climbing into bed. He did not go beside her though, no, instead he got on top of her. Sakura woke up startled and tried to push him off.

"Sakura stop it, it's just me."

"I know. Get off, I'm trying to sleep."

"Come on Sakura."

"Sasuke I'm tired and excuse me if fighting all day and night doesn't exactly put me in the mood." Sakura could sense Sasuke's temper rising, but she was glad she was standing up for herself.

"Stop it Sakura, you don't even have to do anything, but I need to restore my clan, you knew this and agreed to it when I asked you to marry me."

"I didn't know marrying you would mean that I would be your personal slave and baby-maker!"

"Sakura I'm not going to argue with you, just lay down!" In retaliation, Sakura sat straight up. Sasuke couldn't control his temper anymore, he pushed her onto the mattress and kissed her harshly while lifting her nightgown up. Sakura squirmed, but she was no match for Sasuke. He broke the kiss and glared down at her, the look on his face made Sakura stop squirming and just close her eyes. _If I don't struggle then it will be over faster._ Sasuke slid her panties off and forced himself inside of her. Sakura was somewhat used to Sasuke's size now, but sometimes when he was being rough (like now) it still hurt her. Sakura gasped in pain, but instead of slowing down, Sasuke thrust harder. "Ow Sasuke your hurting me!" she screamed. He looked down at her, and she begged him with her eyes to stop, but he continued.

When Sasuke was done he didn't kiss her, just rolled over. Sakura was trying to catch her breath, she was in so much pain. It took all of her strength to get up and stumble into the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, she looked almost as broken as she felt. He hair was in a mess, her face tear streaked, legs shaking, she couldn't look anymore. She slumped against the wall, she almost fell asleep there when she got the sudden urge to throw up. She crawled to the toilet, she was disgusted not only with Sasuke, but with herself, for allowing him to treat her that way. She puked until she thought there was nothing left in her stomach, when she was done and looked up she saw Sasuke standing in the doorway, he looked annoyed. He said nothing though as he handed her a towel to wash her face. When she was done he bent over to pick her up and carry her back to bed. He laid her down and left for a minute, returning with a glass of water. He stood above Sakura watching her as she drank it, when she was done he took the glass and kissed her on the forehead, "I'm sorry," he whispered.

When Sakura awoke the next morning she found Sasuke's arm around her waist. She moved it gently and went downstairs to start breakfast, her legs hurt so bad as she ascended the stairs. Sasuke joined her shortly and informed her he was still going to reduce her missions, but she would still be allowed to work her normal shifts at the hospital. "Thank you," she whispered. She was grateful, but also angry because now she would not be able to get away as much. Sasuke left after breakfast, after cleaning up Sakura prepared to go to the hospital.

"Sakura, are you sure you're okay? You seem down."

"I'm fine Shizune."

"Come on Sakura don't lie to me. Is it Sasuke?"

_YES!_ Sakura screamed in her head, but instead answered, "He has just been worried because I'm not pregnant yet, he wants kids. So now I'm worried something is wrong with me."

"Don't be silly, Lady Tsunade would be able to detect right away if there was something wrong, you're fine, it just takes time and patience."

"Your right, we're just both really excited to be parents."

"Well Sakura, I'll tell you a secret. For most medics, they can't tell a woman is pregnant until about 3 weeks, but Lady Tsunade has taught me to detect it sooner, I can tell you in abut a week after concieving. So if you ever are wondering, let me know."

Sakura cheered up instantly, if she was pregnant this time she would know sooner and put Sasuke out of his mood, and if she wasn't yet, well she didn't have to tell him then. "Thank you Shizune, you don't know how much that means to me, to us."

The rest of the day went by faster than Sakura would have liked, but Shizune's news had definately lifted her spirits. She hoped the week would pass as fast as this day had.

The week did fly by, and Sakura had to deal with Sasuke's up and down moods, but she was fine with it, because she had asked Shizune to examine her on Saturday. That morning she was nervous as she waited for Shizune in her office. She began reading a magazine to take her mind off of things. Shizune walked in shortly after causing her to jump. "Ready Sakura?" Sakura nodded and followed her into an examination room. Sakura felt weird being the patient and not the doctor. "Lay down and pull up your shirt." Sakura did as she was told, expecting Shizune to draw blood to determine if she was pregnant or not. Instead though, Shizune focused her chakra into her finger tips and placed them on Sakura's belly. She poked and prodded for a few minutes, concentrating so hard it made Sakura nervous.

The examination took no more than 5 minutes, "pull your shirt down and sit up," Shizune said solemnly. Sakura knew the answer before Shizune said it, she could tell by the disappointed look on her face that she was not pregnant. "Sakura," Shizune began in a dismal tone, "CONGRATULATIONS!"

"What? But I thought-"

"I'm sorry, I was kidding with you, but it's true Sakura! You're pregnant!"

Sakura began crying tears of joy as she hugged her friend, "Thank you Shizune, thank you so much!"

Shizune hugged her back, "I'm so jealous of you Sakura. You're so young and you have a wonderful marriage and now you have the chance to experience the joys of motherhood." _Well half of that is true,_ Sakura thought.

"Don't worry Shizune, you still have plenty of time to settle down."

Shizune laughed harder then pulled Sakura away to look at her. "You are going to look so beautiful pregnant! Go home! Go and tell Sasuke, I will cover your shift!"

Sakura was too happy to argue, she ran back to her office and gathered her things, she was out of the hospital in less than 5 minutes. She busrt in the door so excited, but Sasuke was not home, _training grounds,_ she thought. She hurried off to find him, _he is going to be so happy. _Sakura found Sauke sparring with Naruto in an open field. "Sasuke," she yelled. He looked up in alarm, letting his guard down, resulting in a swift kick to the face by Naruto. Sasuke looked mad as he got up, which frightened Sakura a bit, but she knew this would cheer him up.

"Sorry," Naruto babbled, "You didn't call for a time out."

"Hn," Sasuke said, forgiving his friend. He turned to Sakura, "What is it?"

She looked at Naruto, she wanted to tell Sauke in private but... _What the heck, everyone is going to know soon anyways._ "I'm pregnant," she said softly, "Shizune confirmed it just now."

Naruto's mouth fell open in surprise and Sasuke had a look of pure shock on his face. "What?" He asked.

"I'm pregnant!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto started whooping and yelling congratulations. Sasuke walked towards Sakura and placed his hand on her stomach, she knew how much this meant to him. "Really?" He asked still not believing it. "Yes really, Sasuke your clan is going to be restored, we are going to be a family."

Sasuke picked Sakura up and spun her around, he placed her back on the ground and kissed her, it was gentle, and within it, she could sense a genuine 'thank you.' She looked up at him as she broke the kiss and he smiled at her, a sincere smile.

**I really like this chapter, so please review and let me know what you guys think. Thanks for reading! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you guys for the reviews :) They really inspired me and I really hope you enjoy this chapter**

**P.S... I haven't been really putting disclaimers on here but obviously I don't own Naruto :'(**

"So how do you feel? How does it feel to know you have a baby growing inside of you?" Ino squealed.

Sakura laughed. "I'm only 5 weeks Ino, I don't really feel anything."

"Don't lie, you're pregnant, you have to feel something!"

"Ino I'm serious! The only thing I feel is hungry, and a little sick."

"Ugh, being pregnant sounds nothing like people advertise it as."

Sakura laughed again, _what Ino says has some truth to it though,_ she thought as she patted her stomach.

As she walked home that day, Sakura thought of how little things had actually changed in her life. Sure, Sasuke had been happy, and his mood had been lifted when Sakura first told him she was pregnant, but now, he was almost worse than before.

_"Sakura, you're late."_

_"I know, sorry my shift at the hospital ran a little later than I expected."_

_Sasuke looked irritated, not a good sign. "This can't keep happening Sakura. You have to understand that you have to care for a child now, and like it or not that means that you might have to sacrifice some hours at work."_

_She thought it was ironic that Sasuke was telling her what she needed to do to care for the fetus even though she was the medic. "Sasuke, me working is not going to cause the baby any harm. Besides, my work is easy now that everyone knows I am pregnant, and work relaxes me."_

_"Sakura you are going to listen to me, I am your husband, and I will not let anything risk the well being of my child."_

_"I think you're forgetting that this is OUR child, and I'm not doing anything that is going to hurt it. I've followed all of Lady Tsunade's instructions, the baby will be just fine with me working my normal schedule."_

_"No."_

_"Excuse me?"_

_"You won't be working your normal schedule, I know I said I wouldn't make you cut your work days, but this changes things. I only want you working 3 days a week now."_

_"You can't do that Sasuke! I need to work to-"_

_"Sakura enough!" Sasuke yelled getting up. "You agreed to obey me when we got married, and that is my final word. I won't hear any arguements."_

He was wrong though, Sakura had argued, almost the whole night, but to no avail, Sasuke won, as usual.

She thought her being pregnant would help him mellow out, but she was wrong, he was even more controlling than before. It seemed Sakura could do nothing right, and he was constantly worrying about the welfare of the baby. _I guess I would worry too if this was the only hope I had of restoring my clan, but I wish he would trust me and not be so uptight._

When Sakura got home, Sasuke was not out training as usual, but instead napping on the couch. It looked as if he had been waiting for her to get home and then fallen asleep. She found it cute because it was not yet even 5 o'clock. She walked towards him, she had never really taken the time to look at Sasuke when he was asleep. She was pleasantly surprised, he actually looked relaxed, as if it was the one time he let his guard down.

She went to stroke his hair, but he caught he hand in midair, and opened his eyes, fully alert.

"Sorry, I was just going to stroke your hair and let you know I'm home."

Sasuke said nothing as he sat up groggily, Sakura couldn't help but giggle because his hair on the back of his head was flat while all the rest stuck up wildly. Her laughing at him earned her a glare, shutting her up.

"Have you eaten yet?" He asked, stretching.

"No, I didn't really have an appetite."

He looked at her from the corner of his eye, she knew what was coming. "Sakura you need to eat, your eating for two now, not just yourself."

"I know Sasuke, but you go through morning sickness and see how much of an appetite you have." He glared at her again, he was about to say something but Sakura interrupted him. "Look if you're gunna get mean and argue about it then I will just have a sandwhich okay?"

Sasuke smirked in victory. Sakura walked into the kitchen giggling and shaking her head, but she stopped as soon as she walked into the kitchen, she could smell food everywhere, and it was making her stomach churn. Sasuke walked in behind her and leaned against the counter. Sakura knew he was watching so she opened the fridge, an array of smells hit her and she couldn't hold it anymore, she ran out of the kitchen holding her mouth with Sasuke following close behind. She made it to the bathroom just in time, Sasuke stood at the door watching, he felt slightly guilty, because it was his fault she was like this, wasn't it?

"Sasuke can you get me a washcloth please?" He obeyed and came back with it dripping with warm water.

"Um, I-uh, do you need anything else Sakura?" Despite being sick Sakura couldn't help but smile at Sasuke's attempt to be passionate.

"Actually, some tea would be nice if it isn't too much trouble." Sasuke nodded, and helped Sakura out of the bathroom and onto the couch before heading to the kitchen. "If you do feel like eating tonight let me know and I can make something," he said handing her the cup. She smiled in appreciation.

The rest of the night was uneventful, Sasuke filled out mission statements at his desk, and Sakura read until late in the night when she fell asleep. Sasuke didn't even notice she had passed out on the couch until he got up to go to the bathroom.

He looked at her, her arm hanging off the couch, a book open on her chest, and a few strands of hair covering her face, he would never admit it outloud, but Sakura looked cute, _no not cute, beautiful._ He went to pick her up and take her to bed when he noticed her shirt was pulled up a bit, exposing part of her stomach. He didn't know what compelled him to do it, but he pulled it up more and looked at her stomach. Her skin looked so smooth, even with the small bump that was beginning to form. He couldn't help it any longer, he reached his hand down and touched her stomach gently, he ran his calloused hands over her smooth skin. His hand stopped in the middle of her small belly, he knew that it was nothing because it was too early to feel anything, but he pretended he could feel the baby moving around. _My baby, no, our baby._ He bent over and kissed her stomach, "goodnight baby, I-uh, goodnight." He got up and put Sakura in his arms to take her to bed. He had almost said 'I love you.'

**The Next Day:**

When Sakura woke up the next morning Sasuke was gone and there was a note on the table._ 'Got called to the hokage's office. Be back soon.' _Sakura decided she would take a shower, then clean up the house.

**At The Hokage's Office:**

Sasuke walked in to find Kakashi and Naruto sitting in the room as well.

"Shut the door Sasuke," Tsunade ordered. He sat down in the chair she indicated. "As I was explaining to Kakashi and Naruto, this is an escort mission, very simple. A monk needs to be escorted to the cloud village but is afraid of robbers. You will leave at dusk." They all nodded in understanding. "All right, you're free to go, except you Sasuke. I need to talk to you."

The others left and Sasuke sat back down. "To start, I haven't had the chance to tell you congratulations yet."

"Thanks," he murmured.

"But that isn't why I wanted to talk to you." He looked up curious. "You former teammates are due to be released in three days, and I wanted to make sure you weren't going to get any, well, ideas, or try to defect again."

"I'm married and Sakura is pregnant, don't you think if I planned on leaving I would have made it a little less of a hassle to do so."

"Don't get smart with me kid. Old habits are hard to break, but I really do hope you can prove everyone wrong."

"Hn."

"Thats all I suppose."

Sasuke got up and opened the door. "Oh and Sasuke," he looked back. "Quit trying to look so mean. It's okay to be excited about you and Sakura having a baby." All of a sudden he wanted to run and hug Tsunade, but instead he gave a small smile and nodded.

After he left Tsunade smiled, it was a long, slow process, but little by little, she could see Sakura was getting through to Sasuke.

When Sasuke got home he was pleasantly surprised to see the house once again immaculate and Sakura tidying up the bookshelf in the living room. He really was glad she felt better.

"I have a mission. I leave tonight."

"Oh." Sakura was a little disappointed, she did not want to be left alone, and although Sasuke wasn't much company, he was better than nothing. "For how long?"

"Tsunade didn't say, but it's a simple mission, so probably a day or two."

"Oh, okay." Sakura felt weird, Sasuke was never this talkative unless something bad was about to come up.

"Juugo, Suigetsu, and Karin get out of prison in three days." _And here it is,_ Sakura thought.

"Are you going to go see them?"

"Of course I am, they are my teammates."

Sakura got angry, she knew she was selfish, but what right did he have to call those crooks his teammates? "I thought me, Naruto, and Kakashi-sensei were your teammates."

He looked at Sakura, he should have never told her, he should have known it would turn into a fight. "You are my wife, I don't know if that still makes you my teammate, and Naruto and Kakashi are still my teammates, but so are they."

"You're not planning on leaving again are you? Because you left us for them once before!"

"Why does everyone think I am going to leave?" Sasuke shouted. He turned sharply and glared at Sakura making her shrink back into a wall. "So you don't trust me either huh?" He walked towards her and grabbed her arm when she tried to back away. He brought her close to his face. "I married you damnit, I'm about to start a family with you, does it sound like I'm making preparations to leave? Show a little faith and trust Sakura." He let go of her and walked upstairs.

Sakura felt beyond stupid. _I shouldn't have said that, now he is going to leave mad at me. That's not a good way to start a mission._ Sakura contemplated what to do for about an hour before simply deciding to make him a sandwhich and pack some food for him, Naruto, and Kakashi for the road.

She walked upstairs and found Sasuke sitting on their bed with his pack beside him. "I made you and sandwhich, and packed some food for the mission."

He didn't reply.

"Is there room for it in the pack?"

"Hn."

_Great, it's like for every step forward he takes I make a wrong move and he takes three steps back._ She kneeled beside Sasuke and took his hands in her own. "I'm sorry. I never should have implied you would leave. Sometimes I just take you for granted and I can't believe you're here with me again."

"Well I am here," Sasuke snapped, "and I've been here for awhile now. I don't know how much more I can do to get some trust around here."

Sakura almost said 'earn it,' but that would have opened a new can of trouble, and besides, she could see he was trying. "Most people don't just forgive and forget Sasuke, they hold onto grievances until their hearts are as hard as stone." She knew he coould relate to what she said. "It's going to take time, alot of time, and maybe even time can't heal everyone, but it will get better. But I am sorry, and I know you will come back, and stay here with me and our child."

"Whatever," he said getting up. He took the food from Sakura and shoved it in his bag. "I have to go." He kissed her roughly on the forehead and then was gone.

Sakura wanted to cry, but she didn't she couldn't cry everything something went wrong.

**Two Days Later:**

Sasuke got back with no injuries, and said the mission was boring. Sakura was glad he wasn't hurt, and she surprised Sasuke by waiting on him hand and foot. She really was sorry about what she said, and she wanted him to know it.

That night as they got ready for bed Sakura massaged his shoulders and back. "We haven't been together in a long time Sasuke," she whispered. Despite himself, he had to agree. Before, they had been intimate almost every night, for reproducing purposes of course, but now it had almost been six weeks.

Sakura kissed his neck and let her hands slip to his waist, Sasuke almost lost himself in the moment, bet caught Sakura's hands as they travelled to his thighs. "Sakura stop it."

"Why?'' She asked, her voice had a hint of a whine in it, annoying Sasuke.

"We're not having sex until the baby is born."

"Sasuke it can't hurt the baby. And besides, I want to make everything up to you." She attempted to straddle him, but Sasuke got up, gently pushing her off.

Tears began welling up in Sakura's eyes. "It's because I gained eight pounds isn't it? I'm gaining weight and you think I look disgusting!"

"Stop it."

"How can I stop it when I can't even arouse my own husband because I am so grotesque?"

"You're being stupid Sakura, now knock it off."

The last comment made Sakura cry even harder, but she was not going to guilt Sasuke into sleeping with her. "I'm going to sleep on the couch," she said wiping her eyes.

"No you're not," Sasuke said sternly.

"I don't wanna be around you right now."

"I said no, you would be scrunched up, and you wouldn't have alot of room so you could fall off and hurt the baby."

"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!"

"Sakura, I'm tired, I'm not going to argue. Come to bed before I make you."

Sakura stood at the door for a minute thinking over her next move, she was about to go to the bed when Sasuke sprung up and grabbed her by the arm. Apparently she had taken too long for his liking. "Let go, I was on my way to bed."

He lifted the blanket, "get in."

Sakura yanked her arm out of his grasp and crawled to the farthest end of the bed. Sasuke felt bad for making her feel unwanted earlier, and tried to hold her hand, but she pulled it away. "Please don't touch me," she said before rolling over. _She wants to be that way fine, I don't have to baby her,_ he thought rolling over.

The next day Sasuke left without leaving Sakura a note. It was early and a bit chilly, but he went anyways, and sat on a park bench outside the hokage's office. He was out there for a few hours before he saw three familiar faces emerge from the building, he noticed they had two anbu escorting them, but he didn't care. He got up to greet them.

Karin saw him and hesitated for a moment, but then ran to him. "Sasuke!" She yelled leaping in the air for him to catch her, he moved, and she quickly tried to regain her composure and play it off.

"Man it is good to see the sun again!" Suigetsu said stretching.

Juugo said nothing but looked around as if he could not get enough of the of the outdoors, his eyes absorbed his new setting.

"Sasuke I missed you," Karin squealed, leaning on his shoulder, annoying Sasuke. "Please tell me the rumors aren't true."

"What rumors?" Sasuke asked.

"We heard you married some broad, umm, Sakura, the one from the kage summit." Suigetsu answered.

"And that she was pregnant," Karin pouted. "But it's all lies right?" She asked perking up.

"It's true," he said simply. Karin fell to the ground, Suigetsu smiled and Juugo gave him a quiet 'congrats.'

"So?'' He asked Suigetsu.

"Oh yeah. That dumb broad and her council sentenced us to two and a half years of community service, six months of guarded probation, and we can't leave this damn village for three years!"

Sasuke thought of how his punishment paled in comparison to theirs, and he almost felt guilty, but secretly he was glad it wasn't him.

They talked for a few more moments before the anbu began ushering them away, and Karin pulled Sasuke aside.

"I still love you, you know."

"Hn."

She tried to kiss him on the cheek but he moved. "If you ever get tired of that cry baby wife of yours, come find me."

Sasuke glared at her. "What?'' She asked trying to be seductive, "all I'm saying is that she is going to get big, and even more unattractive. When that happens I'll be there for you." Sasuke didn't react to the statement, and Karin tried once again to kiss Sasuke's cheek, this time she succeeded. He moved next to Suigetsu and walked off with them.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Sakura had been standing nearby, she had seen them and stopped while on her way to Ino's. _He didn't defend me. He didn't say one good thing about me, and then he let her kiss him._ She cried, holding her stomach, she had thought she loved Sasuke, but now a surge of hatred welled up for him and that girl Karin.

**This was a longer chapter than I usually put up so I hope you guys enjoyed it! Damn Karin has to go and ruin everything :(... Anyways, please show some love and review and let me know what you think... Until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**The reviews I got really inspired me for this chapter and I hope they keep coming so I can know how I am doing... Enjoy :)**

**(I don't own Naruto unfortunately, but oh well I can dream :D)**

Three months. It had been three months since Sasuke's old team had gotten out, and everyone noticed the difference. He was skipping training with Naruto and Kakashi to train with them, and all the progress he seemed to make in the two years since he had been back was virtually gone. _I guess things never really change,_ Sakura thought bitterly, _and they never will. He had barely begun to melt and they come and turn him into an ice block again._

She had barely spoken to him in those three months, she was still upset over the incident she had seen with Karin. She spent countless nights trying to convince herself that she didn't care, but then she couldn't help but wonder if her accepted her offer, which always led to tears. Sasuke had been so indifferent to her that he barely even noticed the change in her mood. The only time he spoke to her was to ask about the baby. And even then the conversation never got past a few sentences. The only good thing about them not speakking, was that it meant they were not fighting, but somehow Sakura almost preferred that to the silence.

**Flashback:**

_Sasuke's cheek still stung with heat where Karin had kissed him. He didn't know what Karin was talking about though, Sakura was almost 6 weeks pregnant and still looked great. In his opinion, she looked a bit too small. Besides, even though he didn't love Sakura didn't mean he was going to cheat on her, he respected her more than that. But still he had to admit that his mind had wondered to Karin. Not that he was particularly interested in her, she was just new. Sasuke had been with Sakura for six months, the longest he had committed to any person (other than Naruto) and he was feeling restless._

_When he walked home he shook the thoughts out of his head and tried to pay attention to Sakura, but she had barely looked at him and not uttered a word the whole night. He didn't bother to ask what her problem was, he liked the silence between them, even if it did seem a bit awkward. Sakura didn't read on the couch that night as she usually did, she went straight to bed after dinner, and later when Sasuke went to bed he accidently brushed against her, she finched away and glared at him. 'Two can play at that game,' he thought._

**End:**

And that's how it had been for the past three months.

"Are you excited Sakura?" Ino asked as they walked to the hospital.

"Yeah," Sakura answered uneasily.

"What's wrong?"

"I just don't know if I want to know the sex yet, I kind of want it to be a surprise."

"Is that what Sasuke wants too?"

Sakura took a deep breath and put on a fake smile. "He is too excited to decide so he left it up to me since he couldn't be here today."

"Oh."

Sakura was lying of course, she had reminded Sasuke everyday for the past week that the appointment was today, as usual he replied with a 'hn,' she assumed that meant he was coming. But this morning as usual he was gone, so she asked Ino to go instead.

"Even if YOU don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl, can I?"

Sakura laughed. "Ino you have the biggest mouth in all of Konoha, I would know within five minutes."

"Please Sakura I promise I won't tell a soul."

"I'm sorry Ino but you're going to have to wait just like me, the only person who is going to know is Lady Tsunade."

Ino pouted for a minute but then began to perk up as she talked about an upcoming date she had with Shikamaru.

"Wait, what happened to Sai?" Sakura asked.

"We just were'nt compatible."

"Did he break up with you?"

"Yeah. I was upset and Shikamaru saw me crying and we talked and then he asked me to dinner tomorrow night."

"Congrats Ino, it's about time you guys got together."

Ino blushed. ''Yeah believe it or not I'm kinda nervous. I mean I have been to dinner with him before but never alone."

"Don't worry Ino, it's going to be fine."

"Thanks Sakura. You ready, we're here."

Sakura smiled and nodded.

She laid back on the bed as Tsunade examined her.

"Where is Sasuke?"

"I-um- he couldn't make it."

"Oh?" Tsunade questioned. But she saw the look on Sakura's face. "I'm sure he is really excited, and sorry he missed it."

"Yeah."

The examination was fairly short and they met in Lady Tsunade's office after.

"The baby is perfectly healthy Sakura, you're doing good. And you're sure you don't want to know the sex?"

Ino groaned audibly when Sakura said, "no."

After the appointment they Ino and Sakura parted ways. Sakura walked home feeling a bit better knowing the baby was okay. As she got to the house she saw Naruto leaving. "Naruto!"

He ran to her, "Sakura! I haven't seen you in over a month, you look great!"

She blushed, it was the first compliment she recieved in a long time. "Thanks Naruto. What were you doing here?"

"I was looking for Sasuke, he bailed on our training session today so I came to talk to him but no one was home."

"Oh," Sakura was a bit disappointed that he didn't come to see her.

Naruto saw the look on Sakura's face, "but if you want I can stay and we can have lunch."

"Sure," Sakura said brightening up.

"What do you mean Sasuke hasn't been training with you for the past two weeks."

"That's right. He bailed again today and I got tired of it and went to confront him. Ever since those goons got out he has been on a downward spiral."

"Yeah, you're telling me." Sakura hesitated at first, but then told Naruto of the incident between Karin and Sasuke.

"That's terrible Sakura! Did he follow through?''

"I don't know."

"Sakura, Sasuke may have changed, but I don't think he would do that.

"I hope so."

They kept talking and lost track, before they knew it, it was dark.

"Oh geez Sakura I didn't realize how late it was I gotta go, but we should do this again sometime."

They hugged goodbye right as Sasuke walked in. He didn't know why, but seeing Sakura in Naruto's arms made him mad. He felt as if a monster was rising up in his stomach. But Sasuke would never let anyone, especially Naruto see that, so he regained his composure before speaking.

"I didn't know you were here Naruto."

"Well teme, maybe you would if you wouldn't have bailed on me, again!"

Sasuke shrugged off the remark, "I had stuff to do."

"You always have stuff to do," Sakura sneered walking into the kitchen. As if hvaing second thoughts she walked back out and gave Naruto another quick hug, "see you soon."

Naruto saw the flash of jealousy in Sasuke's eyes and stood there nervously for awhile, but then he seemed to remember why he was there. "Are you going to training tomorrow or not?"

"I don't know, maybe."

Naruto threw up his hands in anger, "I'm not gunna argue with you, show up if you want, but I hope you remember who your real friends are." He walked out slamming the door.

Sasuke contemplated going to talk to Naruto, but decided against it, Naruto would forgive him, he always did. He walked into the kitchen and saw Sakura angrily banging pots and pans. "What's your problem?"

"You, you're so oblivious to everything!"

"Hn."

Sakura got mad and threw the calendar hanging on the wall at him. He looked at it, and Sakura saw his eyes change as he realized what day it was. She was expecting and apology, she was expecting compassion, but she should have known better than to expect that from her husband. "Well, what is it?"

"Unbelievable."

Sasuke was beginning to look almost as frustrated as Sakura. "I asked you a question."

"You would know the answer if you would have bothered to show up!"

"I forgot okay Sakura, just answer the damn question!"

"I don't know what it is."

"What do you mean, today was the appointment to find out the gender."

"I mean you weren't there to help me make the decision and I wanted it to be a surprise, so I made the call and now you get to deal with it."

"Sakura you had no right-"

"No right to what? Make a decision regarding myself and my child when you can't even be responsible enough to be there!" Her words stung and Sakura knew it. She watched as Sasuke's face went from frustrated to pissed, but she kept going. "You act so concerned for the baby yet you haven't been to one appointment. If you can't even be there for your baby before it's born how can you expect to be there after? You're going to be a sorry excuse for a father!"

He backhanded her. He didn't even it realize it happened until he saw he clutching her face and backing away. He couldn't believe he had actually hit her. "Sakura I-"

"Get away from me, don't touch me!" She swatted him away and tried to get around him, but he wouldn't have it, and the next time she went to hit his hand away he grabbed it roughly.

"Stop it Sakura." She ignored him and kept crying and struggling. Suddenly he didn't feel sorry anymore, but aggrivated. "Quit acting like what I did was unreasonable, you need to learn your place." She struggled more and Sasuke finally let her go.

Sakura ran up the stairs, and when she got to their bedroom she heard the front door slam. She cried on the bed and tried to feel sorry for herself, but a voice kept playing inher head, _'Did you know Uchiha men can hit their wives?'_ She hated it, but she wasn't as mad at Sasuke as she should have been. _He is just acting like he knows how how, he lives by codes and rules, why shouldn't he abide this one,_ she thought bitterly. She walked to the bathroom and got in the shower.

**Sasuke:**

He walked alone down the deserted street. The argument he had with Sakura was still fresh in his mind, and everytime he heard her words in his head it stung even worse. He kicked a rock with such force it went flying down the street. He felt bad for just leaving Sakura, but he knew if he stayed he would have hit her again. He thought it was ironic, it was drilled in his head to protect Sakura, but he was always the one hurting her.

Sasuke didn't know where he was going, he just let his feet carry him, when he finally looked up he was standing at the memorial stone. He stood there looking for a second, he saw the names of his mother and father, he touched the names gently. "I did it, our clan is going to survive, I'm finally restoring it."

"That's a big burden to carry."

Sasuke hadn't realized he wasn't alone, he looked up to see Kakashi standing next to him. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my old team."

"Oh."

"You and Sakura had a fight?"

Sasuke tried to look tough and say nothing to his former sensei, but he couldn't help it. "She is just so difficult. If she would just abide by my rules and do what I tell her, and not be so stubborn and try to do everything her way we would be fine."

Kakashi looked at him as he continued to rant. "It's simple," he said, "you're being selfish."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke challenged.

"Marriage is give and take, it's not easy, but you have to let Sakura make decisions too, you're not her boss or her suboordinate, you're her husband."

"But what if she makes the wrong decision?"

"It's a risk you have to take, and if she does make the wrong one you have to be there to help her fix it."

"You don't get it," Sasuke snapped. "I'm the last Uchiha, a wrong decision could ruin everything, I have to restore my clan. When you have nothing or no one left and you are the absolute last one, then you can lecture me."

"Don't you remeber Sasuke, we already had this conversation."

Sasuke looked dumbfounded.

"Right before you defected. You and I are more similar then you think. I know what it's like to lose everyone and everything, you're definately not the only one." Kakashi looked towards the stone, he touched a few names, "the names of my family," he touched some others, "my comrades," and finally his hands lingered on two names, "and my closest friends are engraved here. But you learn to live with it Sasuke, you do what you can to console yourself, but you don't let it take over your life."

Sasuke looked down, he remembered learning this from his sensei a long time ago, but he had not listened then, he chose revenge, maybe this time he would. "I guess."

Kakashi tousseled Sasuke's hair like he used to do when he was a kid, "I have to go, but hopefully I will see you at training tomorrow." He began walking away, but turned around. "Oh, and Sasuke," he called back, "the way I see it you're not the last Uchiha. Sakura now carries your last name, and in case you forgot, there will soon be another carrying your name. I guess your title of 'The Last Uchiha' has been stripped from you, sorry." And with that Kakashi turned and disappeared.

Sasuke couldn't help it, he smiled.

Sasuke left the stone, but he didn't go home, he wandered the streets of Konoha. He walked past buildings and reminisced his childhood, his time with team 7. Sasuke liked to think that he had changed and nothing was the same, _but I was wrong. So much is still the same, Kakashi is still the wise teacher, the one who has all the experience and answers, Naruto is still the knucklehead, strong and forgiving, and despite it all, he is still my friend. And Saukra, Sakura, she is still there for me, no matter how low I make her feel, she is still the forgiving, naive, sometimes annoying, kind hearted, and wonderful girl I left behind._ He felt his features soften thinking about the old team, _no, not the old team, MY team._

He walked through the door and shut it quietly. He went upstairs and saw Sakura asleep on the bed, she wasn't in her usual pajamas, she was in one of his shirts, he knew she forgave him, again. He looked down at Sakura, really looked, she was beautiful, he knew she was self conscious about her weight from the pregnancy, but if anything, being pregnant had given her a glow that made her look radiant. _She's still here,_ the thought, _she always was, and she always will be, and I-I have to be too._ He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, then brushed his hand over her swollen stomach. He felt it move, secretly, he hoped it was a boy, but he knew he would be proud and be there for it regardless of what it was.

He was about to climb into bed, but instead knelt beside Sakura and took her hand. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "it's just I-I don't know what to do. I feel so conflicted all the time, and I take it out on you because I know that despite it all you will forgive me, and you will still help me. You spoil me Sakura, and I take it for granted. I can't sit here and make promises and pour my heart out like I know you would like me to, I don't know how, but I can make one promise. I promise I am going to try. Not half-heartedly like I did before, but I am going to try. And who knows, maybe I will learn to love you, and our children. But for now, I hope you know, you're still my friend, one of my closest friends." He kissed her hand and climbed into the bed beside her.

Sakura opened her eyes, she had heard everything. _'I can't sit here and make promises and pour my heart out like I know you would like me to,'_ she smiled, because unbeknownst to Sasuke, he did pour out his heart to her, and that was all she really wanted.

"I love you," she whispered before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her.

**I really hope everyone enjoyed reading this because I know I loved writing it. **

**To be honest, this chapter was a bit difficult for me because I want my characters to feel like the actual characters, but when I finally got it, I felt like they did, and I hope you guys think so too.**

**Please review and show some love, tell me what you think and what I should work on, and you are welcome to leave me ideas, I lvoe them.**

**See you soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know it's been a long time, but I have been super busy, I'm really sorry, but I hope you enjoy.**

**P.S. I don't own Naruto**

Sakura awoke to find Sasuke next her, just as she had almost everday for the past month. She smiled, it felt good knowing he was there. Ever since that night it did seem Sasuke had made some effort at bettering himself, he returned to training with Naruto and Kakashi, and though he was still difficult, he had been noticeably nicer to Sakura. _He's trying, that's all I can ask._

She got up and went downstairs to start breakfast. Sasuke came down shortly after, the meal was uneventful, and when it was over Sakura left to change,her and Ino were going shopping for the baby and decorating the room.

"I just wanted to let you know that I don't want you to spare any expenses Sakura," Sasuke said walking into the bedroom. Sakura squealed and tried to hide herself. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Just please go, I don't want you to see my body."

Sasuke wanted to say someething comforting but he didn't know how, so he just left the room as she asked. He didn't know why Sakura was self conscious, he thought she still looked beautiful, _well maybe you should tell her that you idiot_! He silenced his thoughts as Sakura appeared in a pink sundress.

She began to walk past him, "Sakura!"

She turned around, "yes?"

"Um-I-uh... Don't worry about being fat, that's how your supposed to look."

The look of horror on Sakura's face let Sasuke know he had said the wrong thing. "I meant um-"

"I have to go," she said rushing past him.

_Idiot,_ he thought smacking his head, _that's why I never try to help Sakura when she's upset, I always make it worse. _A knock at the door pushed Sasuke out of his thoughts. He opened it, "Hey," Suigetsu said, he slipped inside past Sasuke and sat on the couch.

"What?"

"Geez what's witht the tone? All I wanted to do was come see my _friend._ You know the one that had only seen us twice in the past month!"

"I've been busy with missions."

"You're lying, Karin has only sensed you being away three times, the rest she says you are here or at the training grounds. They're going crazy, Juugo still thinks your the reincarnation of Kimmimaro, so he wants you near him at all times, and Karin is 'madly in love with you,' and their driving me crazy, so I pomised them I'd come see why you abandoned us after everything we did for you."

"Why does it matter? That time in our life is over, it's not like I'm gunna leave with you guys again."

"Why not?"

"Why do you think? I'm married, I have a kid on the way, I am eligible to take the chunin exams now, why would I give it all up?"

"Why wouldn't you? Come on Sasuke, we both know you married that girl so she would think you cared about her, so you could use her without her complaining. But you did it, your clan is on the way to restoration. And who cares about the chunin exams, you at the kage level, why do you need a title to tell you that?"

"Where are the anbu that are supposed to be guarding you?'' If Suigetsu had ditched them, Sasuke did not want to go down with him.

"They're outside," he said lazily, "I invited them in but they declined. I can see you're not gunna answer me, but just remember this, the blood of your clan was shed all over this land by your own brother, because of orders from this village. And two of the people who ordered it are still alive, I thought you wanted vengence."

"You should go, but I'll see what I can do about visiting more alright?''

"Yeah whatever," Suigetsu said walking past him, "just remember what I said Sasuke, you're an avenger, playing the quiet peaceful role of dad and husband was never in your cards."

**Meanwhile:**

"Sakura that crib is adorable!" Ino shouted, gaining the attention of almost everyone in the store.

"Keep it down Ino,'' Sakura laughed.

"But did you see the price on this thing?"

"Yeah, but Sasuke said not to worry about expenses, he has money."

"Lucky," Ino said.

"Speaking of lucky," Sakura said holding up baby clothes to her belly, "how are you and Shikamaru?"

"I never thought I'd say this, but we're really good. I don't know why I never thought of him before, I really like him. Maybe soon you'll be helping me with my wedding, and shopping for baby stuff for me!"

"That's be great wouldn't it?"

"What would?"

"If our kids could be best friends."

"Yeah, Sakura I can't believe in just two more months you're gunna be a mom," Ino said with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, me either," Sakura said patting her stomach.

"It's gunna be different though you know."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you and Sasuke have been married a little over a year and you guys have got to be all alone, but the honeymoon's over now."

Sakura nodded in agreement, but she wished Ino knew how much she was wrong, the past year had been anything but a honeymoon.

**That Night**

When Sakura got home Sasuke was sitting on the couch with a sour look on his face, _great he's in a bad mood._ "Hey, I bought all the stuff, but it was getting late so Ino is going to come over tomorrow to help me set up the room."

"Hn."

Sakura reached over to touch him but he flinched away. "I already ate but if you're hungry I'll make you something," she said, her voice cracking.

"It's fine."

Sakura nodded and grabbed the bags of stuff to take them to the baby's room, there were so many and she was having a hard time gripping them. Once she got them all up one bag slipped out of her hand and crashed to the floor.

"Dammit Sakura be careful!" Sasuke said jumping up.

"I could use some help you know!"

"Then ask dammit I can't read minds!"

"Well I'd assume you would have enough courtesy to help me!"

Sasuke stomped towards her, Sakura cringed, she thought he was going to hit her again, instead he grabbed most of the bags and stomped upstairs. Sakura took the remaining bags and followed him.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she entered the room.

"Nothing."

"It's something. If it was nothing you wouldn't be acting like this."

"It's nothing."

"Sasuke I know when something is bothering you! Why can't you just talk to me?"

"It's nothing Sakura now drop it!"

"Fine," Sakura said beginning to cry, she walked out of the room leaving Sasuke standing there dumbfounded.

He knew he shouldn't have taken it out on Sakura, but he was in a bad mood ever since Suigetsu's visit. He found Sakura sitting on their bed crying. "Sakura stop crying," he commanded softly. "I'm not mad at you."

"Just please go," Sakura said sniffling.

Instead of obliging though Sasuke did the unexpected, he climbed onto the bad next to Sakura and held her. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he stroked her hair. Soon enough she stopped crying and they sat there comfortably in each other's arms. _It's funny,_ Sakura thought, _I've never felt this at ease with him._

She looked up at Sasuke and blushed when she realized he was looking at her too. His lips came down onto hers in a soft but demanding kiss. Sakura obliged and let Sasuke take control. She was lost in the moment, she hadn't felt like this in a long time, it was as if everything had been erased.

Sasuke unzipped the back of her dress and began sliding it off, Sakura broke the kiss and tried to cover herself.

"Sakura stop," he whispered. He could feel a beast rising up within him, lust, he had never felt it so much.

"Sasuke I don't want you to see me like this."

"Why?" He demanded.

"I-I-I- It's just I-"

"You're beautiful," Sasuke said in a barely audible whisper.

"What? What did you say?"

He took a deep breath, it was now or never. "You shouldn't worry, you're beautiful."

Sakura began to cry again, Sasuke didn't know what to do.

"I-uh, what did I say? I'm sorry."

Sakura kissed him on the lips, "thank you.''

Sasuke gave her a few moments to recollect herself, then he once again reached for the dress, Sakura let him this time, though he couldn't help but notice the blush that came to her face. He didn't understand how she thought she was fat, she didn't even seem that big, but Sasuke knew better than to voice these thoughts.

He took a few moments to stare at her body and take all of her in (he hadn't seen her completely naked in months). He noticed Sakura getting nervous under his gaze, so he leaned in to kiss her, and took one of her breasts in his hand, she moaned into the kiss as he began to knead her skin. He could feel his member growing harder by the second.

Sasuke was never one for foreplay, and within minutes he was waiting at her enterance, but he looked scared.

Sakura knew what he was thinking, "it's not going to hurt the baby Sasuke."

He nodded at her but didn't look reassured. She leaned foreward and ran her hand along his face and over his shoulders, "I promise Sasuke, it won't hurt the baby, or me."

Sasuke seemed a bit more sure of himself and slammed into Sakura, she moaned and gripped his back as he continued to thrust in and out of her.

When he was finished Sasuke took Sakura in his arms as he lay down. She stroked his hair as she listened to his breathing return to normal. For the first time in awhile, Sakura fell asleep completely content.

**The Next Day:**

Upon waking Sakura found a note from Sasuke saying he left early to help Naruto with something, but would be back for dinner.

Sakura got up to take a shower, and found it was hard to stand because her legs were shaking so bad, she couldn't help it, she let a devilish smile slip across her face.

As the hot water ran over her body, Sasuke's words repeated in Sakura's mind. He had never called her beautiful before, and even if it was just from the heat of the moment, it still meant something to her. After her shower Sakura went downstairs to make breakfast and wait for Ino to come and help her with the baby's room.

As usual, Ino was fashionably late, not arriving until past noon.

''About time," Sakura said opening the door.

"Ah be quiet forehead. In case you're forgetting I do have a life," Ino retorted.

Sakura couldn't stay mad at Ino, "come on," she said laughing.

Within a few hours they had the room almost completely set up, except for the crib.

"I swear they forgot to put some pieces in here, how the hell is all this supposed to connect?" Ino ranted.

Sakura was getting frustrated as well, she was reading the instructions, but they were no help at all because they were so vague.

"Sakura, let's go get something to drink really fast before I throw this damn thing out the window."

"Alright," Sakura said. Ino helped her up and left the room. Sakura followed but paused at the door. She looked at the room and smiled, it was just about perfect. Since they didn't know the sex of the baby they had decided to do everything in yellow, so there was yellow wallpaper bordering the ceiling and bottom trim. There was a white rocking chair with a yellow blanket over the back, with a big teddy bear sitting in it, a white dresser and changing station, and assorted toys on a little shelf. All that was left was the crib that was in pieces in the middle of the floor. Sakura couldn't wait until Sasuke got home to see it.

"Sakura someone's here!" Ino called.

Sakura went downstairs and opened the door, she gasped audibly, Suigetsu, Juugo, and Karin were standing on her front porch.

"Ugh," Karin sneered when she saw her.

"What do you want," Sakura asked in a dark tone.

"Where is Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked.

"Not here," Sakura said. She attempted to close the door, but Suigetsu stopped her. He forced the door open and stared down at Sakura, she didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Well obviously you know where he's at."

Sakura was about to answer when Ino stepped forward. "Look she said he's not here, if you want him so badly go find him yourself."

"How dare you talk to us like that!" Karin yelled in a high pitched voice. Sakura felt her stomach shift slightly, but she ignored it.

"Get outta here, now," Sakura warned.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gunna do if we don't? Sit on us?" Karin taunted.

"Karin stop," Juugo said. "If he's not here let's just go."

"No," Karin said stepping foreward. "I've just about had it with this little bitch. The only reason Sasuke is with you is because of that kid. He used to complain to us about you all the time! You're so stupid if you think he actually cares! And no wonder he's not here, why would he even wanna be in the same room as a fat pig like you!"

Sakura wanted to hit her so bad, but a sharp pain in her stomach caused her to cringe.

"Enough!" Ino shouted. "Where the hell are your escorts? You're not supposed to go anywhere without them! Get outta here before I call for some more!"

"Make us," Suigetsu sneered.

Ino was about to swing, "Ino!" Sakura screamed.

She turned around, Sakura was ghostly white. She was holding her stomach, standing in a puddle of water.

"Sakura what's going on? You're not due or another two months!"

Sakura nodded, tears streaked her face, "someone get Sasuke, it's time!"

**Ooh! Sakura is about to have the baby! What do you guys think it should be? **

**I hope you guys enjoyed it, please show some love and review (I love tons of reviews :D)**

**I promise I will update ASAP!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so, so sorry! It has been so long and I know you all probably want to shank me! But please don't because then i can't write anymore chapters :O**

**P.S. I don't own Naruto, but enjoy!**

"Are you stupid or something?" Ino yelled, "one of you needs to go find Sasuke, someone else needs to alert Tsunade and the medical corps so they can help us get Sakura to the hospital or prepare for delivery here!" Karin, Suigetsu and Juugo still stood there dumbfounded. "Didn't you hear me? MOVE!"

The trio jumped back. "I'll find Sasuke!" Karin volunteered eagerly.

Sakura looked up at her, "if you try anything," she said between gasps, "I'll kill you."

Karin sneered at Sakura and left.

"I'll tell Tsunade," Juugo offered. When Ino nodded at him he took off.

"That leaves you!" Ino shouted at a very nervous looking Suigetsu, "help me get her to their bed."

They got on either side of her and began easing her up the stairs.

**Meanwhile:**

"Shadow-clone jutsu!" Naruto yelled coming at Sasuke, he easily avoided the attack. They weren't going hard on each other anymore, they were just sparring out of boredom.

Sasuke felt a familiar chakra approaching, he sighed in exhasperation, "what do you want Karin?"

The red haired girls emerged, "oh I just have some juicy news to tell you, but I think I deserve a little reward first."

Sasuke was losing patience already, "just tell me Karin or leave."

"Oh I'm sure you want to hear this, but first I want a kiss."

"Tell me or I'll hurt you," Sasuke whispered maliciously.

Karin was somewhat taken aback, but she persisted. "You really might wanna choose fast Sasuke, I have a feeling you're gunna wanna hear this."

In an instant Sasuke had Karin pinned against a tree, ''just tell me dammit."

Karin pursed her lips and shook her head. Sasuke took out a kunai and held it to her throat. "Hey Sasuke calm down," Naruto said trying to pull him away.

Sasuke pulled his arm from Naruto's grasp, "I'm tired of her games, now I mean it Karin, tell me."

Karin was staring at the kunai in Sasuke's hand, she knew he wasn't bluffing. "Sakura's going into labor," she said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"What?"

"Sakura's going into labor!" She yelled.

Sasuke threw Karin aside and took off at unimaginable speed with Naruto following at his heels.

**At The House:**

"Ino make it stop!" Sakura screamed.

"Let her hold your hand!" Ino ordered Suigetsu, "I have to get hot water and towels."

Suigetsu walked up to Sakura nervously. He patted her head, "um-uh, you're doing good, just squeeze my hand until Sasuke gets here."

Sakura took his hand right away, nearly breaking it when the next contraction hit. Ino came back into the room, "where is Sasuke?" Sakura yelled.

"Yeah where is he?" Suigetsu asked desperately.

"I don't know, he's probably on his way," Ino said wiping Sakura's brow and spoon feeding her tea.

Ino didn't want to say anything, but Sakura looked terrible, all the color was drained from her face, she was sweating terribly, and she was starting to shake. I hope Tsunade gets here soon.

Just as Ino finished her thought Tsunade burst through the door. "Move Ino!" Ino complied, and saw the evident worry on Tsunade's face. Sakura saw it too.

"How bad is it?" She asked between labored breaths.

"Don't worry Sakura, it's all going to be okay now. Take this," she handed her two pills.

Sakura took them, and almost instantaneously the pain began to subside. Tsunade began pumping chakra into Sakura's stomach, Sakura looked at her quizzically, "It's to give you energy and the baby a little more nutrients before it comes," she explained.

As Tsunade continued, Sasuke rushed in, "what's going on?" He asked.

"She's gone into labor early," Tsunade said without looking up, "we have to act fast, there's no time to take her to the hospital, she'll be ready to push within the hour." Sasuke stood there dumbfounded. "Go sit by her and comfort her!" Tsunade ordered.

Sasuke complied, Suigetsu moved and went to sit in a corner with Juugo. "Hey," he said taking her hand and stroking her hair. Sasuke wanted to be encouraging, but he was scared for their baby, it was two months early. "Um-I-uh don't worry, you're doing good, everything is going to be fine."

Sakura attemted to smile at Sasuke, but a powerful contraction came and it turned into a hideous grimace. Sasuke couldn't help but feel guilty, he did this to her after all. He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Everyone was on edge while they waited for Sakura to be able to push. While they were waiting Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Shizune showed up, they all huddled in a corner with Suigetsu and Juugo, fueds were forgotten for the moment, they all sat quietly hoping for Sakura and the baby. The only person not in the room was Karin, Ino had ordered her to wait downstairs.

"It's time," Tsunade finally announced.

Everyone crowded around Sakura, suddenly she felt self conscious of all them seeing her like this. Especially from the angle Kakashi and Shikamaru were standing at. "Can you all move to the side, or back to the wall please?"

For a second no one moved, but then Sasuke glared at them, and they began to disperse. Sakura felt a little more comfortable.

"All right Sakura," Tsunade said in a voice softer than Sakura had ever heard her use, "it's going to hurt, but you have to push when I tell you, and you have to use all your might. Got it?" Sakura nodded. "Alright, first one, 1,2,3 push!"

"Ahhhh!" Sakura screamed, trying to push, but it hurt worse than anything she'd ever experienced. Sasuke's face twisted in pain as she squeezed his hand.

"Alright that was good but you have to give me another one, 1,2,3 push!"

Sakura repeated the process three more times, but it felt like the pain was getting worse and the baby was no nearer to coming.

"Push!" Tsunade commanded. Sakura obeyed and suddely Tsunade yelled, "I see the head! Just one more push Sakura, give me a big one!"

"AHHHHH!" Sakura pushed, and finally felt the baby slip out from her. Instead of announcing the birth with joy though, Tsunade took the baby immediately and left the room, presumably to work on it in private. Sakura began to panic, "what's wrong, where did she go with my baby? What's wrong with it?" She began sobbing.

"The baby didn't look like it was breathing, and it was really small," Shizune said. "I don't know if the lungs were completely developed."

Sakura fell back against the bed and began hypervenilating. "It's going to be alright," everyone said coming to comfort her. But despite it all Sakura felt scared down to her core, and looking at Sasuke's emotionless face, she couldn't help but feel disappointed in herself.

Sakura lost track of the time they were in that room waiting for Tsunade to come back. Ino and Shizune looked at Sakura and made sure she was alright, but she didn't care, all she wanted was her baby.

It was dawn, Naruto and Suigetsu were dozing in their chairs, Kakashi and Shizune were pacing around the room, everyone else was ccrowded around Sakura's bed worrying silently. Then Tsunade came in, she held an unmoving bundle in her arms, she looked exhauseted, Sakura buried her face in Sasuke's neck and began crying. Tsunade walked up to the couple, "congratulations, you have a son."

She handed the bundle to Sakura, "I had to speed up his lung development using my chakra, and I had to do it fast or he would have died," Tsunade explained.

Sakura had tears in her eyes as she held her son. He was perfect. "Thank you." At the sound of her voice the baby awoke and half smiled before crying from hunger. Sakura couldn't believe this beautiful child had come from her. He had black hair and green eyes, and she could feel his chakra flowing strong within him, he was going to be a great ninja.

Tsunade let everyone coo over the baby for a few minutes before ushering them out, explaining that Sakura had to feed him, and her and Sasuke needed alone time to decide the name.

Sasuke walked them all to the bedroom door and assured them he would tell them when she was done feeding the baby. When he turned he saw his son already suckling at Sakura's breast. Her make-up was smeared, her face tear-streaked, her hair was tangled and in a mess, but to Sasuke, she never looked more beautiful than she did in that moment, holding their son.

After a few minutes the baby turned his head indicating he was finished. "Do you wanna hold him?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke was nervous, he had never even been around a baby before, he had no idea how to hold it. "I-I-I don't wanna drop him, or hurt him."

"Your his father, you won't hurt him. Come here."

Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed, Sakura helped him position his arms, then gently laid the baby in them. Sasuke looked nervous, but as he saw his son looking up at him with complete trust he became more at ease.

"See I told you," Sakura said softly rustling Sasuke's hair.

"Kotarou," Sasuke whispered.

"Hmm?" Sakura asked.

"His name, Kotarou."

Sakura looked at him questioningly.

"He is our first son, I want to call him Kotarou."

Sakura laid back against the bed. "Kotarou Uchiha, it has a ring to it."

Sasuke smiled, he was glad she agreed.

Soon they let everyone come back in. "Naruto," Sakura called. He came over obediently. "We want you to meet your godson, Kotarou."

Almost instantaneously tears welled up in Naruto's eyes, "ah you guys! Thanks, I'm gunna be the best godfather ever. I'll teach him Ato fight and eat ramen and-"

"But," Sasuke interrupted, "your going to have to share him with Kakashi."

The look of shock on Kakashi's face was readable through his mask.

"And Lady Tsunade," Sakura said beaming at her master. "We couldn't decide on one godparent, we want you all to be apart of his life."

After a few hours everyone left, finally leaving the new family alone. Sakura and Sasuke stood above his crib, Sasuke held Sakura, and for once he felt like he could actually be happy here, in Konoha, with his son, and with Sakura. He kissed her forehead, "You did good," he whispered.

She kissed him on the lips, "no, we did good. And we're going to do good, for the rest of our lives together."

That night when she went to bed, Sakura never felt more blessed, she had a husband, they weren't perfect, but they worked, and now they had a son, finally someone who Sasuke could maybe show some genuine emotion to, she was happy.

**Awww! I honestly thought about making this a real tragedy, but I couldn't stand for Sasuke and Sakura to lose their baby fter they've waited so long! Sakura thinks she's happy now, wait till she learns the responsibility of parenthood! (yes I am going to continue the story :D)**

**Please review and show me some love! Also give me suggestions! I want to hear from you guys about what you would like to read in this story!**

**I would really love a ton of reviews on this chap! (virtual high five to anyone who reviews! And after the high five a BIG virtual hug!)**

**See you next time! xD**


	13. Chapter 13

**I know it has been a really long time but alot of stuff happened and yeah... But anyways I'm back, and I think this is a good chapter so I hope you guys enjoy it :)**

**P.S. I don't own Naruto :(**

Sakura awoke out of a dead sleep to Kotaru crying, "Sasuke, the baby is crying, it's your turn to get him." When Sasuke didn't answer Sakura shook him, he cursed at her and turned over. _Great,_ she thought,_ this is the fourth time this week I have to get up with Kotaru. _It's not that Sakura didn't enjoy being with the baby, or she was mad at him, it was just that in the five weeks since his birth, Sasuke had only got up to attend to him twice, it wasn't fair.

_At least I don't have work tomorrow, _she thought as she cuddled her son. She missed her job but she was glad she had taken a three month leave of absence, she still didn't know how she was going to balance work AND motherhood.

After a half hour Kotaru finally went back to sleep, but Sakura was so tired she fell asleep in the rocking chair still holding him.

**Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke awoke the next morning to an empty bed, he assumed that Sakura was downstairs making breakfast and went to join her. He walked past the baby's room and saw her asleep in the chair. To most people this would seem sweet and Sakura would look beautiful holding their son, but Sakura looked pale and exhausted. Sasuke stood in the doorway looking at them, his son was the most precious thing in the world to him, but in a dark selfish part of him, he was resentful because the baby took away his standard of living. Sakura was almost never up to cook breakfast, when he came home she never inquired about his day or asked if he wanted a massage, but instead handed him the baby and went to rest. How could one little person take away so much?

_Quit being selfish, _a voice inside his head said_, he is a baby, how can you be resentful of him?_

_**I just wish things would have stayed normal, **_he answered.

_That's not the baby's fault_, he found himself thinking, _it's Sakura's, she should have adjusted to moterhood by now._

The more he thought about it, the more Sasuke became convinced he was right, and he decided to confront Sakura about it.

**Normal POV**

Sakura woke up when the baby did again, she looked at the clock, _it's almost 9, great._ She fed Kotaru and changed him before she went downstairs. She expected Sasuke to be gone by now, he usually was, but instead he was sitting on the couch.

"Oh hi."

"Hn," was the reply she got.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes I did, I had my breakfast a 6am, just like I'm supposed to every morning."

"Oh. Sorry I didn't wake up in time, it's just that I had to get up again with Kotaru, even though it was your turn." She couldn't help throwing the last part in.

''Even when I do get up with him I'm still up on time."

"You've only been up with him twice, that's not a big accomplishment!"

"Sakura we had a deal, I held up my end, and it doesn't even seem like your trying to live by the Uchiha codes."

Sakura was furious, "don't even speak to me about deals and holding up my end, in case you didn't notice I'm holding your son! So I think I've been holding up my end of the deal pretty well."

"Oh really? Look at the house, it hasn't been cleaned in at least a week, you are never up on time anymore, you don't even take care of yourself but stay in pajamas all day, how is that holding up the rest of our deal. Don't you remember Sakura, I asked you to marry me, not just to have my kid, it's a commitment."

"Well let me see you take care of a baby day and night and see how well you keep your damn codes!"

"Obviously it's do-able since Uchiha women did it their entire lives."

Sakura was hurt by that comment but she didn't want to fight so she attempted to calm down, ''look Sasuke I'm trying but it's hard. And somethimes things don't go the way you want and you just have to adjust."

"Or you have to try harder at being a mother," Sasuke said coldly as he got up.

Sakura was dumbfounded, she couldn't believe he had said that. "Sasuke how could you?"

"I'll be back tonight, should I expect dinner to be ready or should I just get ramen with Naruto?"

Sakura was on the verge of tears, "do what you want," she said turning away so he wouldn't see her cry. Sasuke scoffed and walked out.

In all honesty, Sakura wanted to just cuddle with her son and go back to bed, but she knew on some level Sasuke was right. Not about everything of course, but the house was a mess.

"Ugh, you win again Uchiha," she sighed.

She put Kotaru in his little rocker and turned on some music, hoping he would fall asleep and not fuss. Sakura started in the living room, there were papers scattered everywhere, and dust had collected on almost all the furniture. She began going through the papers to see what to throw away and what to keep when something caught her eye. It was a mission form for Sasuke, but not an old one, one with tomorrow's date on it. She read:

**Uchiha, Sasuke**

**You are required by the hokage and the Village Hidden in the Leaves to partake in this mission for the well-being of the village and its people.**

**In the Land of Iron there has been an uprising, it is very close to being caught in a civil war, your mission is to go with your appointed team and stabilize the country.**

The scroll said more, but Sakura didn't want to read it. Missions to stabilize a country could take weeks, even months, and they were dangerous, at least ten percent of ninja sent on those missions died. Sakura began crying again, they were a family now, she couldn't lose him. With shaking hands she reached for the scroll again, she skipped over the details of the mission until she got to what she was looking for:

**Estimated mission time: 15 weeks**

She nearly collapsed. He had been ordered on a mission that would take him away for 15 weeks and hadn't even told her, but why? Sakura racked her brain, but she couldn't find one. Then it hit her, Sasuke was leaving for 15 weeks, he was not going to see her or their son for months, she might never see him again, and they were fighting over housework.

Sakura stopped crying and began cleaning again. She cleaned the living room for over an hour until it was spotless, then she started on the kitchen. The only time she stopped was when Kotaru woke up and started crying, and even then she got him to settle quickly. When she was finally finished with all the downstairs she got Kotaru and started cleaning the upstairs.

When she got to Kotaru's room she began crying again as she picked up his clothes and toys, _how much of this is Sasuke going to miss? _She asked herself. Sakura swallowed her emotions though and kept working. After a few more hours the house was immaculate, and she still had a few hours until Sasuke was expected to get home.

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, she had no make up on, her hair was dull, disshiveled and tangled, she had bags under her eyes, she was pale, exhausted, _now I know what Sasuke meant,_ she thought. She didn't want him to remember her that way while he was gone, she started running some bath water and brought Kotaru's rocker up and put it next to the tub. She got in the tub and relished the feeling of the warm water rushing over her body. Ever since Kotaru had been born she had just taken quick showers to get clean, that's it.

Now she added rose scented bubblebath to the water and emerged herself in it. She took this time to relax and wash away her stress. When she got out and dried off Saskura looked in the mirror and decided that the bath had given her the desired effect, she didn't look so exhausted or pale now. She ran her fingers through her hair, _now it's time to take care of this._ She brushed it all out, it had gotten quite long again, then aligned the scissors with her shoulers and cut. Sakura watched her hair fall to the floor but she knew it was better that way because it was tangled and dead.

She brushed her hair again and while she let it dry took out her make up. She put on a thin line of eyeliner on her top and bottom lid, she dusted some light pink eyeshadow on and added mascara. On a second thought she also put on some pink lipstick and blush. Sakura couldn't believe she was the same person who looked in the mirror only hours earlier. She didn't have time to admire herself though because Kotaru woke up and started fussing form hunger. _Perfect timing,_ she thought as she took out her breast to suckle him. When Kotaru was content Sakura took him with her into the bedroom to get dressed. Instead of her normal tan capris and red shirt she put on a white summmer dress that accented her curves, she finished it off with a spray of cherry blossom perfume. When she looked at the clock she realized she only had about 45 minutes to make dinner.

When Sasuke walked in the house the aroma of rice with tomato soup and pork hit him, he walked into the kitchen and found Sakura laying out dishes for dinner. But this wasn't the Sakura he had left this morning, this Sakura was dressed up and humming as she added the last touches to their dinner.

He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Oh hello," she said looking up and smiling. "Dinner is almsot ready, go ahead and sit down."

"Where is Kotaru?" He asked warily.

"In his rocker in the living room, I'll get him if you want."

"I'll do it," Sasuke said, he wanted to relish every moment he could with his son. He picked Kotaru up and noticed his mission scroll on the coffee table, _so she knows_. He walked back to the kitchen.

"I have to leave at 5 in the morning tomorrow."

Sakura nodded, "I know. I packed some stuff for you. Who else is going?"

"Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Kiba, Ino as our medic, and about 20 others.''

"Oh."

Sasuke didn't reply and they ate their dinner in silence. After he was done eating Sasuke went upstairs to make sure he had everything, take a shower, and get some rest. He offered to put Kotaru to bed, which Sakura gladly accepted. When she was finished with the dishes she went upstairs, but Sasuke wasn't in their room, instead she found him standing over Kotaru's crib looking at their sleeping son. She touched his shoulder gently, causing him to jump a bit.

"He's perfect," Sasuke whispered.

"He is," Sakura said, "and already he is so much like you."

Sasuke didn't question what she meant, but just nodded.

"Come back for him Sasuke, he needs you as much as I do."

Sasuke looked down at his wife and saw the tears in Sakura's eyes, "you've got to stop crying Sakura, you have to be strong." But he still bent down and kissed her.

Sakura smiled and tried to wipe away the tears, "promise me you'll remember us like this Sasuke, as a family, so you have something to look forward to when you come home."

Sasuke looked back and forth from Sakura to Kotaru, he took mental pictures, "I promise."

**The Next Day**

Sasuke tried to get up without waking Sakura, he grabbed his stuff and kissed her cheek lightly before leaving the room, he stopped in Kotaru's room, he leaned in the crib and kissed his son's forehead, "I love you," he whispered. When Sasuke got to the door he looked back one more time, to his shock Sakura was standing there. He dropped his pack and she rushed into his arms, he strocked her hair while she cried into his chest.

"Please come back Sasuke, I need you, I love you."

Sasuke smiled and tilted her head to his, he kissed her one last time, "I promised Sakura, I don't break my promises." Sakura hugged him one last time and he left.

**8 Weeks Later**

Sakura watched as her beloved mentor played and cooed over Kotaru, she knew Lady Tsunade loved him almost as much as Skura and Sasuke did. She touched the wedding ring on her finger, he would be home soon, his mission was half way over.

"I know I say it all the time, but you and Sasuke made one beautiful kid," Tsunade said.

Sakura smiled, "I know, thanks."

"He's gunna be handsome and strong just like his parents. You know I bet he-"

She was cut off by Shizune running into the room. "M'lady! There was a huge battle in the Land of Iron."

Tsunade saw Sakura's face drop, "casualties?"

"Hundreds, maybe thousands." Shizune looked at Sakura, "some of our own are among them."

Sakura began to see spots, "Sasuke!" She cried out before hitting the floor.

**Well there you have it, I really guys hope you enjoyed the story, and please review because I really miss reading people's thoughts on the chapters, and I will update ASAP! **

**See you soon! (Remember to review please!)**


	14. Chapter 14

**So I know a lot of people were wondering when I was going to update, and I know it has been months, but my internet was turned off, then our computer broke so I had no way to post stories. I am so sorry about the long delay, but hopefully now updates will at least be steady.**

**P.S. I don't own Naruto**

When Sakura awoke she didn't know where she was or why she felt so dizzy. As her head began to stop spinning she realized she was in a hospital room.

"I can't remember the last time I was in one of these," she said to herself.

Sakura stretched, then it occurred to her that Kotaru was nowhere in sight, she began panicking. Shizune opened the door, "Where is my son?!" Sakura screamed at her.

"Sakura, calm down, he is still in Lady Tsunade's office. Don't you remember what happened?"

Sakura racked her brain and then with sudden shock she remembered Shizune telling her and Tsunade that there had been a battle in the Land of Iron and that among the mass casualties there were some of the Leaf ninja. "Do you have any word on what has happened? Who has been," Sakura choked on the last word, "who has been killed?"

"No. We assembled a team to go and get our ninja out and provide back up, but someone has put up a barrier, we couldn't get through."

Sakura was shocked, "what are we going to do?"

Shizune sighed, "There is nothing we can do until we find a way to destroy that barrier. For now all we can do is wait."

Sakura's face turned red, she was livid. "Wait?! That's all we're going to do is wait? My husband, and my friends are in that mess and no one is going to help them?"

"Sakura please calm—"

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down Shizune, why the hell aren't we doing something? We have the man power!"

Shizune tried, but she couldn't get Sakura to calm down, but she couldn't blame her, just about everyone she knew and loved was on this mission.

**In the Land of Iron**

Sasuke looked around him, his comrades looked hopeless, and the stench of death was everywhere.

Ino was working tirelessly over Kiba.

"How is he?" Kakashi asked.

"He's going to live, that kunai almost hit his heart, but I helped the tissue regrow quickly so he wouldn't bleed out." Ino got up, "he just needs to sleep now."'

Sasuke sensed someone coming, he warned the group, as they got closer though he sensed it was Shikamaru, with a young Leaf ninja he had met while on this mission, Koti. "It's just Shikamaru and Koti," Sasuke said.

Kakashi released the barrier they had put around camp to let them in.

"Help!" Shikamaru yelled, "I need help, Koti is hurt bad."

Naruto and Sasuke went to help Shikamaru as Ino and Kakashi began to clear a space for Koti to lie and for Ino to work. Ino gasped when she saw them walk in, Shikamaru had cuts all over his face and it looked like he had a mild burn on his exposed chest, but Koti's face was mangled almost beyond recognition, he was missing an arm, and blood was pouring from a wound in his stomach.

"Lay him here," Ino ordered. They did as she told them and she immediately began to work on him.

"What happened?" Kakashi asked.

"We got close enough to the barrier so I could start analyzing ways to bring it down, the good news about that is I think I know what to do, but we got attacked. It wasn't the villagers, or the mediocre ninja we usually fight though. These guys were strong and they sure as hell didn't want us near their barrier. Just after the fight started one of them disintegrated Koti's arm. He kept fighting though, it took all we had to get them to retreat, and now," Shikamaru looked over at Ino desperately working over Koti, "now he's in really bad shape."

"So whoever you fought wasn't someone we have seen in any of the battles?" Kakashi asked, analyzing the situation.

"No."

"Kakashi," Sasuke said.

"Mmmhmm," Kakashi said nodding at him. "Sasuke and I had been discussing the probability that this barrier has been placed, not by the citizens of the Land of Iron, but by another person with more power who is looking for control without outside interference."

"If this person is so powerful why couldn't he just take over now?" Naruto asked.

"Two reasons," Sasuke said, "first, with people killing each other off there won't be as many to take control of, and it would be easier. Second, the civil war going on creates distrust, when he emerges it will be easier for one side to follow him and annihilate the other. He is waiting for the opportune moment."

Someone tapped Shikamaru on the shoulder; they all looked over to a defeated looking Ino. "Sorry to interrupt you but—"she couldn't finish and desperately tried to hide the tears in her eyes.

**Back in Konoha**

Sakura was angry, no she was more than angry, she was pissed. Shizune wasn't giving her answers or options other than to wait, Tsunade refused to see her but Shizune said she would drop off Kotaru if she wanted. Sakura told her to keep him for the night, and she would get him in the morning. She sat alone in the empty house on the stairs thinking.

_Sakura you have to do it, think of Kotaru,_ her inner practically screamed at her.

"I am, but what if I get hurt or worse?"

_What if your son has to grow up without a father?_

Sakura sighed, "You're right." She sighed and went up to her room and began packing, she would leave tonight.

Sneaking out of the village was not very hard, but once she had left she began having doubts. _If a whole recon team couldn't get the barrier down and our team out what can I do?_ She felt hopeless, but then she pictured Sasuke and her son, she shook her head, "I have to try."

Dawn was approaching when Sakura heard a small rustle in the leaves, she slowed down and began to observe. She heard it again to her left, and then a twig snapped on her right. She stopped completely and took a fighting stance. Someone leaped at her out of a tree, when Naruto saw who it was he tried to alter his course but ended up colliding with her.

"Sakura?" He asked dumbfounded. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," she said pushing him away from her. "Aren't you supposed to be trapped in the Land of Iron?" As soon as she said it she regretted it, and she hugged her friend to her. "How did you get out? Is everyone okay? Where is Sasuke?"

Naruto hugged her back, "Shikamaru figured out the weak point in the barrier, there was another big battle, but we won, we got out. The others are coming, but everyone is exhausted, so when Sasuke sensed someone coming I volunteered to go check it out."

Sakura began crying tears of joy, "So everyone is okay?"

A dark cloud came over Naruto's usually carefree face, "not everyone, there were four casualties from our team, ninja I had never really known before but got close to on this mission. Ibiiki lost his leg, and if Kakashi doesn't get medical attention soon he's going to die from overuse of his Sharingan. Everyone else is pretty beat up."

Sakura was about to say something when everyone else came into view. They looked tired and weak, she saw the four body bags Naruto was talking about. She silently prayed for their souls, but also thanked kami one of them wasn't Sasuke. All of them looked shocked to see her, but the one face she was looking for didn't looked shocked or happy at all to see her, he looked pissed. She explained to all of them why she was there and offered to treat them and set up camp.

"We need to keep moving," Sasuke said, "we're almost back."

"Sasuke, you guys need help," Sakura retorted.

"There's only one of you Sakura, when we get back to the village there will be enough medics to help us all."

"Sasuke—"

"Enough Sakura, let's go," Sasuke said jumping to a tree and getting a head start. Everyone gave her sympathetic looks before following.

Sasuke had reached the village first and alerted the guards that they were going to need medical attention and to awake the Hokage. She met them all in the hospital and was shocked to see Sakura among them. To answer her unspoken question Sasuke said, "She left our son and snuck out of the village to find us."

Tsunade nodded, " I wondered why you didn't pick him up Sakura. We will talk about this later, for now attend to Sasuke while I take care of Kakashi."

Sakura nodded and turned to Sasuke who refused to look at her. She began taking his shirt off to look for wounds, "I'm glad you're okay, I was so worried." He didn't answer. "Sasuke please talk to me, I haven't seen you for two months, I thought you were dead, please."

"Tell me Sakura, are you stupid?" He sneered at her.

"What? What are you talking about Sasuke, I went to help you?"

"What could you have possibly done other than get yourself killed and make Kotaru an orphan?"

"But I—Sasuke I just wanted you to be okay, I wanted to bring you back so we could be a family again."

"I didn't need your help Sakura, our son needed you, and you failed."

Sakura was getting mad, "don't you dare tell me I failed. I have been with our son every day since the day he was born; I did not want him to grow up without a father."

"Rather have him grow up without any parents?" Sasuke asked turning away from her.

"You are so difficult!" She shoved him away from her.

He turned around and caught her wrists, "I may be difficult, but you are a poor excuse for a mother, running off and leaving your kid in the middle of the night, pathetic."

"Don't you ever talk to me like that again," she yelled and spit in his face.

Sasuke backhanded her and she fell to the ground. "You seemed to have forgotten your place in my absence Sakura, make sure it doesn't happen again." He stood up and began to walk out the door.

"You're a horrible father and an even worse husband!" Sakura yelled after him, "Why did you even come back?" Sasuke didn't even flinch at her words but continued to walk. Sakura began to tear up, but she wiped them away and got up to go get her son.

"Sasuke already picked him up Sakura," Tsunade said, "why is there a problem."

"Oh no, I guess I just forgot." Sakura ran out of the office and to their house, she was scared it was going to be empty when she got there.

When she got inside it was quiet, she couldn't see any trace of her family in there. Silent tears streamed down her face as she walked up the stairs, she walked past Kotaru's room and saw Sasuke with the baby in his arms swaying back and forth gently rocking his son.

"What are you doing," she asked.

"What does it look like?"

"Sasuke you don't have to be so mean."

"Be quiet Sakura, he is asleep. Go to bed."

"Don't tell me what to do."

He looked up and glared at her, "go."

"Sasuke—"He took a step toward her, suddenly Sakura remembered the sting of pain she had felt when Sasuke hit her at the hospital, she turned and went to their room.

She silently got ready for bed and lay down. Almost an hour later Sasuke joined her. He didn't hold her, or kiss her, or tell her how much he missed her, just rolled over and went to bed. Sakura didn't know what had happened to make Sasuke so cold towards her, but she felt like she was back at square one with him, and she didn't like it one bit.

**It felt good to finally be able to update and I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I know Sasuke is really mean to Sakura but he is kind of in shock returning from that mission so don't be too hard on him. As always I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on the story, I love to read all the reviews, so please show some love.**

**Once again I am sorry about the LONG wait, but hopefully now updates will be steady. **


	15. Chapter 15

**It's been so long but, finally here is another chapter, enjoy!**

**I don't own Naruto!**

When Sakura got up that morning with Kotaru she made it her mission to be as loud as possible, no way was she going to let Sasuke sleep in after how he treated her. Her plan worked and within a few minutes an annoyed looking Sasuke walked down the stairs.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked grumpily.

"What does it look like? I'm cleaning the kitchen."

Sasuke knew Sakura was angry at him, but he was even angrier still, if something had happened to her what would have become of Kotaru? All his planning to restore his clan would have been for nothing.

"Sakura you're acting like a child." She didn't answer but continued to bang pots around the kitchen. Finally Sasuke couldn't take the noise anymore; he was hurt, tired and upset, "Enough!" He shouted. Almost as if on cue Kotaru started crying.

"Now look what you did," Sakura glared at him as she picked up their son. She left the kitchen trying to calm him down, it didn't take long and soon she was back in the kitchen being as noisy as ever.

"Sakura," she didn't even acknowledge that Sasuke was talking to her. "Sakura," he said a little bit louder, still nothing. "Sakura," he practically shouted.

"Knock it off. If you upset Kotaru you're the one who gets to calm him down Sasuke." Sakura replied coldly.

"Well maybe you should answer me the first time then."

"What do you want?" Sakura leaned against the counter, she looked completely uninterested in anything Sasuke had to say.

"You never got a chance to finish healing me at the hospital. My left arm hurts and I—" He stopped talking because Sakura was laughing. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"You actually expect me to heal you after last night? Ha! Give me a break Sasuke, you called me a terrible mother, called me horrible names and then hit me! And you have the nerve to ask me to help you? Forget it."

"Sakura I really need your help."

"Too bad," she said walking out of the kitchen.

Sasuke followed her, she checked on Kotaru then went up to their bedroom where she started getting ready for the day.

"Sakura quit being so stubborn, you know my rules and you should know your place by now, you have no reason to be mad at me."

"Will you stop?!" Sakura shouted. "I've had enough of you abusing me, degrading me and then making me feel like it is my fault. I've let you do it for far too long and I'm tired of it."

"Saku—"

"No!" She shouted interrupting Sasuke, "don't start. I'm done Sasuke." She slipped on a dress and walked past him, stopping at the door. "You can take care of Kotaru today, he missed you."

With that she left, he heard the front door slam and then a few seconds later the wails of his son. Sasuke grumbled but then went down to attend to him.

When Kotaru was finally asleep Sasuke sat on the couch to think. _What did Sakura mean she was done? She can't mean that she is going to leave me, we had a deal. She's my wife, she can't just leave._ He had grown accustomed to Sakura always being there and he really couldn't picture his life without her. _Maybe I was just being a jerk,_ he thought. He kept trying to justify his actions in his head, but he knew Sakura was right, he had been downright mean to her and she didn't deserve it. Yes, leaving to go find him was stupid, but he knew she did it out of love, and he shouldn't have been so angry at her for that.

"I'll find some way to make it up to her," he said to himself.

**Later That Night**

Sakura finally came home, later than Sasuke had expected. But she didn't even acknowledge him, just went to Kotaru's room to kiss him goodnight and then straight to the bedroom.

Sasuke followed her. After she had gotten into her pajamas he came and wrapped his arms around her, she didn't melt into him like she usually did, but instead stiffened.

"Sakura I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Fine," she said trying to wriggle out of his arms.

"I know how I can make it up to you," he was using his most seductive voice but Sakura was still trying to get away from him. He kissed her neck, making her shudder. "I want to have another baby Sakura," he whispered in her ear.

Sakura tore away from him, there was anger burning in her eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

Sasuke didn't answer but just stood there dumbfounded.

"After the hell it's been living with you and how mean you have always been to me do you really think I would want to have another baby with you? I was stupid and naïve to marry you and have one baby."

"Sakura, I said I was sorry."

"But you're not Sasuke. I know that you still think what you did was right and it wasn't. I-I'm leaving Sasuke."

"What?"

"Tomorrow, I'm taking Kotaru and we're going to go stay with Ino until I find a place to live. This just isn't working for me anymore."

"Sakura you can't leave me we had a deal."

"I thought I could handle this Sasuke, I thought I knew you but I was dead wrong. You're volatile, unpredictable and dangerous, everything is on a day to day basis with you and I can't keep wasting my time determining whether it's going to be a good or a bad day anymore."

Sasuke was fuming, how dare she try to leave him. "No."

"Excuse me?"

"No, you're not leaving me, and no way on hell are you taking my son."

"Sasuke we both know that you can't take care of him by yourself all the time. I won't keep him from you, you can see him whenever you want but I can't be with you anymore."

"Sakura we had an agreement, we have been making this marriage work for over a year, we have a child. You can't just throw it all away."

"We didn't make anything work Sasuke, I made it work. I dealt with your mood swings, I held my tongue, I tried to live up to your standards but I was never good enough for you. I love you Sasuke, but you will never love me and I can't love you enough for the both of us. This was a stupid idea and it was destined to fail."

"Sakura—"

"Sasuke, please stop. I've made my decision and I'm going to stick to it. I-I'm going to sleep on the couch tonight."

"No, I'll take the couch," Sasuke walked out seething.

When he left silent tears ran down Sakura's face. Everything she had worked for was gone, over. She straightened up and wiped her tears, she had to be strong for herself and more importantly her son.

**The Next Morning**

Sakura had everything packed, Ino and Shikamaru were waiting outside to help her move things, and also to make sure everything went smoothly. So far Sasuke had done nothing but sit at the kitchen table and stare into a cup of coffee.

When it was time to go Sakura took Kotaru in to see Sasuke, her son's face brightened up at the sight of his father and he cooed adoringly.

"I thought he should say goodbye to you," Sakura said.

Sasuke said nothing, but stood up and let Sakura pass him their son. He held him and hugged him tight, but soon Kotaru grew restless and began squirming and whimpering for Sakura to take him back. Sakura took him and turned to leave.

Sasuke grabbed her arm and turned her. He pulled her into a kiss, a more passionate kiss than she had ever gotten from him. She pulled away and saw tears forming in his eyes, "Sakura stay," he pleaded.

She turned so he wouldn't see how much this was breaking her heart, "goodbye Sasuke." With that she left.

Sasuke heard the door shut and he fell to the floor. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, she actually left.

**Later That Night**

Sakura finally got Kotaru to sleep, then she went and sat on the couch with Ino and let the tears that she had been holding in all day fall.

"Sakura, I know things seem bleak now, but it's going to get better. Who knows, maybe losing you will change Sasuke, maybe he'll be a better man for you and your son," Ino said patting her in the back.

This just made Sakura cry harder, "Ino you don't get it, Sasuke will never change."

"Come on Sakura you don't know that, I mean he loves you."

"No he doesn't," Sakura whispered through her tears.

"Sakura of course he does, you guys are just going through a rough patch."

Sakura wiped her eyes, she sighed, "no Ino, Sasuke doesn't love me, and he never has. This whole marriage, everything it was a fluke."

Ino looked at Sakura like she was crazy, "Sakura what do you mean?"

"Sasuke wasn't in love with me, we were never dating in secret like we told everyone. He asked me one day to marry him and help restore his clan, he said I was the only woman he trusted, that I was his friend. He told me he didn't love me, he didn't know how and he probably never would."

Ino's jaw dropped further and further as Sakura continued. "I loved him Ino, I would do anything for him. I wanted to make him happy, I thought I could make him love me but I was wrong."

There was silence for a few minutes, then Ino finally spoke, "you lied? To everyone?"

Sakura looked down in shame, "yes."

"Sakura, I planned your wedding, I ordered your dress, I took you shopping for your baby. How could you lie to me?"

"Ino I'm sorry, no one was ever supposed to know. This wasn't how anything was supposed to happen."

Sakura began another round of sobbing and Ino found her anger going away, Sakura was young, dumb and in love, she couldn't be mad at her for that. "Well your secret is safe with me Sakura," Ino said trying to comfort her.

"Thank you," Sakura finally smiled.

"So what are you going to do Sakura?"

Sakura sighed, "exactly what I said I was going to do. I'm going to find a place of my own for me and Kotaru and I'll work out visitation with Sasuke when I'm ready to see him."

"So there's really no going back?" Ino asked.

"No. I thought that as long as I was with Sasuke nothing mattered, that I would be happy. But I'm not."

"Well that sucks, you know I was really hoping you two would last. You brought out something in Sasuke that no one had seen in a really long time."

Sakura looked up at her friend.

"A smile," Ino said answering Sakura's unspoken question.

Sakura shook her head, "don't be silly Ino, nothing will ever make that man happy, nothing."

**Sasuke's POV**

Sasuke stood in the shadows outside Ino's house. Through a window he could see Sakura, tears streaming down her face, and Ino trying desperately to make her smile.

How had it come to this? Sasuke had just acted like he knew how, Sakura had always dealt with him before. He had pondered this ever since Sakura had left that morning but he still couldn't find a suitable answer other than she didn't love him anymore. He felt his chest tighten at the thought.

_Can you really blame her?_ He thought to himself, _you were so horrible to her, ever since you were kids and all she ever did was love you._ He shook his head to erase the thoughts, but he knew they were right. He deserved everything that was happening to him.

He punched a tree near him, splinters broke off in all different directions, but it didn't help him feel better. Sasuke looked up and saw Sakura leaving the living room to go upstairs, presumably to bed. When he saw what room she went into he made his move.

In just a few fluid moments he was standing outside the window watching Sakura, a sad and defeated Sakura, get ready for bed. He tapped at the window, Sakura looked up startled, she came to the window.

"Sasuke what are you doing here, I told you we were done."

All of his planning to win her back and all of a sudden Sasuke couldn't say anything. "Sakura I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry."

"No Sasuke, you're just sorry I left."

Sasuke felt a pit forming in his stomach. "Sakura I mean it, I didn't know how much you meant to me until you left. Sakura I-I love you."

Sakura gasped and tears ran down her face, "stop it Sasuke."

"Stop what."

"Stop trying to make me come back, those are just words."

"Sakura I'll prove it to you, I love you, I always have I just didn't know it."

"I can't do this again, goodbye Sasuke." Sakura shut the window.

Sasuke stood there dumbfounded, but decided he should let her be alone for awhile, "I will prove it to you Sakura," he promised as he walked back to an empty house.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and will show lots of love and review it! Well until next time!**


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